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History 



OF 



CHERRV VALLEV 



From 1740 to i898. 



JOHN SAWYER. 

1/ 



CHERRY VALLEY, N. Y. 
GAZETTE PRINT. 

1898. 



15286 

preface- 
No village in the United States has haJ so remark- 
able a history as Cherry Valley; nor has any played 
so important a part in all the various epochs of the 
country's history. Indeed it may be said that a care- 
ful student might trace through it the life of the 
country, with all its varied changes: the hardships 
and struggles of th3 colonial times; the sufferings 
and agonies of the revolutionary period; the trials 
and toils of an impoverished p3ople commencing life 
over again in the infant republic; the beginning of 
the emigration from New England and its gradual 
increase until it became almost a universal exodus 
from the older states of the east to the new territories 
of the west; the building up of the villages on the 
great routes of this travel until they rivalled in their 
wealth and influence the old commercial towns of 
New England and eastern New York; their gradual 
decline through the building of the canals and rail- 
roads, which diverted from thsm their great sources 
of revenue; and following this the final destruction 
of their prosperity and influenoe by the loss of their 
young men, who have, in rec3at years, so generally 
sought the growing country to the west, or the large 
cities in the east, as offering greater opportunities 
for advancement. It is not, however, the fact that 
Cherry Valley played a part in all of these various 







epochs that makes its history remarkable, but that 
it played so important a part, and presents in so 
marked a manner the importance of the country vil- 
lage in the early life of the country and its great 
decadence in later times. For, passing by its colon- 
ial history, when as the home of the first English 
church and the first classical school west of the Hud- 
son, and by reason of the prominent part it per- 
formed in the revolution, it was recognized as the 
leading settlement west of Schenectady, we find it 
for forty years after the close of that war the leading 
commercial center and for half a century the wealth- 
iest and most influential village in the state west of 
the Hudson. But more remarkable still, although 
its population during this time never exceeded one 
thousand people, it was the home of a greater num- 
ber of men of prominence and ability and of more 
skilled mechanics than any other pJace in the state, 
excepting only New York. 

This work was originally intended to cover only 
the colonial and revolutionary periods, and was 
adapted more especially for younger readers. After 
that portion of it was in type it was concluded to 
continue it down to the present time. The author 
somewhat regrets that he did not write it on a broader 
plan, with more attention to the general influence of 
the place and less to local detail. Such a course 
would have been likely to have attracted greater at- 
tention, from the outside world, to the importance of 
the Cherry Valley of the past, but it would necessar- 
ily have detracted from its local interest. 






CONTENTS 



Chapter. , Page. 

I. The Early Settlement 1 

II. The Early Days of the Revolution 8 

III. Cherry Valley at the time of the Massacre 14 

IV. The Massacre 23 

V. Various Pacts Connected with the Massacre 31 

VI. Final Destruction of the Settlement 37 

VII. The Re-settlement of Cherry Valley. Wash- 
ington's Visit 43 

VIII. Early Church Societies 45 

IX. Early Taverns 50 

X. Formation of Town and County 53 

XI. From 1795 to 1800 56 

XII. Cherry Valley at the Beginning of the Present 

Century 63 

XIII. Witchcraft. Slaves. Early Customs, Sports etc.69 

XIV. Incorporation of the Village 77 

XV. From 1815 to 1835 81 

XVI. The Men who Made Cherry Valley Famous 90 

XVII. 1835 to 1835 105 

XVIII. 1835 to 1850 113 

XIX. 1850 to 1870 130 

XX. 1870 to 1898 130 

Reminiscences 140 



History of Cherry Valley. 



CHAPTER I. 



THE EAKLY SETTLEMENT. 



The interest we all take in the' memories, tradi- 
tions and histories, of our ancestors, presents one of 
the rare cases where our desires imjDel us in the same 
direction as our duty. For, as it is a pleasure to 
dwell on the deeds and lives of our ancestors, so too, 
is it a duty we owe them to treasure up their memory 
and to do them honor for the noble heritance they 
have passed down to us. 

The inhabitants of Cherry Valley have especial 
cause for treasuring the memories of those who first, 
through many trials and almost incredible hardships, 
worked out a home for their descendants; for the 
early settlers who laid the foundation of this historic 
little village were not alone, like most of the frontiers- 
men of that day, sturdy toilers and men of strictest 
integrity, but they were also, to an unusual degree, 
men of honorable birth and superior education, — 



2 HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. 

How much of the great reputation that Cherry Val- 
ley acquired in later years, is to be traced back to 
the direct or indirect influence of these, as it were, 
cultured pioneers, cannot be told. But that it was 
the main influence no student of the history of civil- 
ization will queston. 

When John Lindesay, a Scotch gentleman of good 
birth and some distinction, settled, in 1740, in this 
valley, and erected his modest house on the hill where 
now stands the residence of Edward Phelon, he was 
on the furthermost western bounds of civilization. 
To the east the nearest settlements were those of the 
early Dutch colonists along the Mohawk, and of the 
Palatines in the Schoharie Valley. History records 
no greater act of courage than that exhibited by this 
family, of gentle training, voluntarily seeking a home 
in this cold and stormy wilderness, frequented b}^ 
bands of roving Indians upon whose fidelity they 
could never wholly rely. That they did not miser- 
ably perish during the first winter was, however, 
strange to say, due to the kindness of a roving Indian, 
who, by chance passing through the valley, stopped 
at their log house and found them suffering from 
hunger; their provisions having proven insufficient 
for their sustenance during the unanticipated length 
of the winter. The Indian on his snow shoes made 
repeated trips to the Mohawk settlements for pro- 
visions to carry the family through the winter. 

The following year, a party of Scotch-Irish from 
Londonderry, New Hampshire, brought hither their 



HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. 3 

Scanty goods and settled. With them came the Rev. 
Samuel Dunlop, a graduate of Trinity College, Dub- 
lin, a gentleman learned in the classics as well as in 
the modern Literature of that day. As was common- 
ly the case in those early times he was not only their 
spiritual advisor but their temporal leader as well. 

Hardly were their rude houses ready for the occu- 
pancy of the settlers before the erection of a log 
church and school house, combined, was begun; And 
it is a fact, of which those who pride themselves on 
their connection with this historic village should be 
as proud as of its revolutionary fame, that on the 
hill north of Mr. Lindesay's house was erected, in the 
summer of 1742. the first church west of the Hudson 
in which the English Language was preached, and 
in the winter following the first classical school west 
of Albany was started. The feeble beginning of 
that famous institution, the Cherry Valley Academy, 
which, at the close of the last and the beginning of 
the present Century, rivalled in its reputation and in 
the number of its students the more pretentious 
Colleges of Union and Columbia. 

The fewness of the settlers and the smallness of 
their worldly goods were such that they could offer 
little in payment for the services of the pastor and 
teacher and he was consequently obliged to eke out 
his humble living by husbandry. But that his pu- 
pils might not suffer too greatly from the closing of 
the school, during seed time and harvest, he was 
wont to instruct them while engaged in his pastoral 



4 HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. 

duties, and it is related that it was a common sii>;lit to 
see him following the plow, on the farm now owned 
by Mrs. A B. Cox, while his little class trudged along 
by his side, scanning their Virgil and Homer. The 
learning acquired under such circumstances would 
not be likely to be easily forgotten, 

It is told that when Mr. Dunloj) left Ireland he 
was engaged to a charming young lady, conditionally 
on his returning to claim her as his wife within 
seven years. When the seven years were nearly ex- 
pired he made the long journey, from Cherry Valley 
to Ireland, to bring her to his frontier home. His 
fiancee had, however, given up all hope of ev^er heor- 
ing from him again, and was to be married, on the 
day following his arrival, to another suitor. She. 
however, welcomed her old love with open arms, 
married him, and with him sought a new home in 
the western wilds. It is a pretty romance, and few 
will wish to be so uncharitable as to doubt its truth. 

There were seven families in the original London- 
derry party, comprising about thirty persons in all. 
including children. The names of the heads of five 
of these families. — David Ramsey, Willian Gault. 
James Campbell. Patrick Davidson and William 
Dickson, — have come down to us. 

After the name of its founder the place had been 
originally called Lindesay's Bush; a name doubtless 
too homely to suit the somewhat refined ideas of the 
Rev. Mr. Dunlo^j. for, in the year following his ar- 
rival, it was, at his suggestion, re-christened "Cherry 



HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. T) 

Valley."' The new name beinu,- derived from the 
fact that wild cherries were abundant in the valley. 

Little has passed down, either by manuscript or 
tradition, of the doings of the infant settlement dur- 
ing the ten years following the arrival of the Lon- 
donderry party. Mr. Lindesay. tired of the rough 
life and the severity of the winters, disposed of his 
farm, in 1744. to a Mr. John Wells; a man of rare 
attainments and integrity, and possessed of a natui'- 
al judicial mind. He was for many years judge and 
jury in all disputations that arose from time to time 
in the neighborhood, and after its formation was one 
of the Judges of Tryon County. 

A Saw Mill and Grist Mill were early erected, and 
the cleared spaces around the cabins grew in size, 
but the number of the settlers remained practically 
the same: the occasional incomers about balancing 
the losses l)y deaths and removals. The reputation 
of the Eev. Mr. Dunlop's primitive but thorough 
.school had. however, extended and a number of the 
leading settlers along the Mohawk were accustomed 
to send their sons to him for instruction. They lived 
with him and formed a little boarding school. 

In the early fifties the little settlement received 
an im^jetus from the arrival of new settlers and from 
that time up to the beginning of the Revolution its 
growth, if slow, was steady and constant. Thus the 
records show that the eight families, who comijosed 
the population of the place in 1752, had increased to 
forty in I7t)5 and at the opening of the Revolution 



H HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. 

to over sixty. During this time a Blacksmith Shop 
had been opened, a little store, or trading place- 
started, and a second Saw Mill erected. There were 
the usual Indian scares and at one timea x^reconcert- 
ed attack of the Indians was only prevented by the 
nnusiial vigilance of the inhabitants. The Indians 
were always a source of dread and fear and the hus- 
bandman invariably took his rifle with him when 
going to his work. 

During the last French war the danger of attacks 
from the Indian allies of the Fren'^h became so great 
that fortifications were erected and a company of 
Ranger.-J. under the command of the celebrated Capt. 
McKean, were stationed here. Despite the many 
scares the place was fortunate in escaping all Indian 
attacks. Occasionally, however, an unfortunate 
settler, living on the outskirts of the little settle- 
ment, was found dead in the woods, or beside his 
plow, having been ruthlessly murdered by some rov- 
ing band of Indians ; doubtless from a distance, as 
the neighboring Indians were on friendly terms with 

the settlers. 

During the several Freiu^h and Indian wars the 
t^xposed condition of the settlement and the paucity 
of men capable of bearing arms, prevented Cherry 
Valley from being largely represented in the conflicts 
that took place, but we read in the old family man- 
uscripts of volunteers from here being present in 
several battles and it is known that at least three 
from Cherry Valley were with Johnson on his Lake 
George expedition. 



HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. 7 

The additions to the original settlers came mainly 
from the New England colonies, and, after the last 
French war, a number of French Canadians also took 
up their residence here. The former were mainly 
Scotch-Irish Presbyterians, who naturally passed by 
the Dutch settlements along the Mohawk and 'Scho- 
harie Valleys to seek a section whose people held 
views more similar to their own. and where they 
could worship in a church of their own denomination. 
As a consequence the little Log Church on the hill 
soon became too small for its steadily growing con- 
gregation, and in 1755 a frame church was erected 
on the spot where the village Cemetery is now.- 
Around the church, as was then the custom, their 
lictie burying ground was laid out. the last resting 
place of the many generations that have lived and 
died in the years that have intervened. 

Soon after the close of the last French war. ad- 
ditions to the settlement became more frequent but 
the growth of the place was somewhat neutralized 
by the branching out and forming of new settle- 
ments by its inhabitants. Thus we find Middlefield. 
Otego, Laurens. Unadilla and Harpersville settled by 
emigrants from Cherry Valley; all small but flourish- 
ing settlements at the outbreak of the Revolution. 



HISTORY or CIIElfKY VALLEY. 



CHAPTER II. 

THE EARLY DAYS OF THE REVOLITIOX. 

The Scotch-Irish, who composed the greater por- 
tion of the popiihition of Cherry Vallf^y. had natural- 
ly little love for the Enuflish. and the French Cana- 
dians, who formed a smaller part, had even less, so 
that it was Uut natural that the inhabitants of this 
place should be among the first to protest against the 
attempt of the Royalists, under the leadership of the 
powerful Johnson family, to commit Tryon county 
to the English cause. This influence effected to 
some degree the not less patriotic but more phleg- 
matic Dutch of the Mohawk Valley, but it had little 
effect on the independent natures of the residents of 
the Cherry Valley hills, where the very air seemed 
to breathe of freedom. 

The Church at Cherry Valley was early in 1775 
the place appointed for one of the first meetings to 
protest against this action on the part of the Tories, 
and the fact that it could accommodate but a small 
fraction of those who flocked hither from all parts of 
the country, shows how great and deep was the inter- 
est thus early taken in the cause of freedom. 



HISTORY OF CHLRRY VALLEY. 9 

The foremost part that Cherry Valley took in the 
deliberations of Tryon County, and the influence of 
some of its representatives, is shown by the fact that 
John Moore, a resident of the place, was the delegate 
from Tryon County to the first Provincial Congress, 
-of which body he was one of the Chaplains, — and 
a member of the State Committee of Safety. Sam- 
uel Clyde, of Cherry Valley, was the first Chairman 
of the Tryon County Committee of Safety. 

At the General Organization of the Tryon County 
Militia, on August 26th, 1775, among the Officers 
appointed from Cherry Valley were : Robert Wells, 
First-Major ; Samuel Clyde, Adjutant and Captain, 
and James Cannon, John Campbell, jr., and Robert 
Campbell, Lieutenants. C)n Sept. 19th, Samuel 
Campbell was appointed Lieut. -Colonel of the Min- 
ute Men. It is worthy of mention, as showing the 
scarcity of money in those early days, that the 
County Committee, at the time Mr. Moore was elect- 
ed a delegate to the Provincial Congress, passed a 
]-esoiution that the pay of the member of that body, 
from Tryon County, should be "Eight Shillings in 
New York currency and no more." 

That, though Tryon County was divided nearly 
(equally for a time between tories and patriots, the 
settlement of Cherry Valley was nearly unanimous 
in its patriotism is clearly shown by the fact that 
thirty-three of its inhabitants, out of a total popula- 
tion of only three hundred, responded to the call to 
arms in 1776. Probably no section of the country, 



10 HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. 

outside of New England, sent so large a proportion 
of its inhabitants to join the patriot armies. The 
fact is even more remakable when we consider thai 
this settlement was the most exposed of any in the 
country, not only because of its nearness to the 
Tory settlement to the North, but also from its dan- 
ger from Indian attacks on the west. 

During the early days of the revolution there was 
little danger from either of these sources. The flight 
of the Johnsons and Butlers, to Canada, prevented 
open hostilities on the part of the tories, and the 
Indians had been so long on friendly terms with the 
settlers of the region around Cherry Valley, that, 
although they had signed an alliance with the 
British, they hesitated to engage in hostilities 
against them. 

The battle of Oriskany, on the 6th. of August. 
1777, changed the friendly feeling, or at most quies- 
cent hostility, of the redman into deadly hatred.- 
Thenceforth they sought only to be revenged on the 
settlers of Tryon county, for the death of their 
brethren, who had fallen in that fierce conflict. Es- 
pecially were they embittered against Cherry Valley, 
as the home of Col. Samuel Campbell and Major 
Samuel Clyde, who had not only been officers high 
in command in that battle, but had also been es- 
pecially conspicuous for their bravery and deeds of 
valor. 

Up to this time no fortifications had been erected 
in Cherry Vallev since the distruction of the old 



HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. H 

stockade of the French and Indian wars, but the 
certainty that Brant, the Indian Chieftain, would 
sooner or later incite his warriors to take vengeance 
on the settlement, led the inhabitants, in the late 
summer of the same year, (1777), to prepare a place 
of refuge in case of attack. They accordingly se- 
lected the house of Col. Samuel Campbell, on ac- 
count of its size and elevated position, and threw up 
an embankment of earth and logs, enclosing the 
house and barns. 

Hither during the summer and fall of 1777, the 
inhabitants of the surrounding country gathered for 
safety, a sort of military discipline being maintained; 
no one being allowed to pass outside of the fortifica- 
tions without a permit. This course was made 
necessary by the fact that even in this stronghold of 
patriotism some converts to toryism were found; 
doubtless influenced by the British successes in the 
campaigns of '76 and '77. Human nature was the 
same in 1776 as now, and to some the desire to be 
on the winning side was greater than their love of 
country. 

It is stated in the "Annals of Tryon County" that 
(luring the early summer of 1778 a premeditated at- 
tack of the Indians under Brant was prevented by a 
boyish parade of the younger inhabitants, who were 
accustomed, in imitation of their elders, to parade in 
front of the fortifications with paper hats and wood- 
en guns. The Indians lying in concealment in the 
woods to the southeast, mistook them for real soldiers 



12 HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. 

and, abandoning their intention of attacking the 
place, moved off toward the Mohawk; stopping for 
the night at a point nearly opposite the old Sulphur 
Spring. It was here that the gallant young Lieat. 
Matthew Wormuth met his tragic end. Lieut. 
Wormuth, who was the son of a wealthy resident of 
the Palatine district, had ridden up from the Mo- 
hawk to inform the residents of Cherry Valley that 
Col. Klock with a portion of his regiment would ar- 
rive the following day. Toward evening he started 
to return to his home, accompanied by Peter Sitz, a 
bearer of dispatches. The Indians hearing them 
approach, concealed themselves behind a large rock, 
and commanded them to halt. They, however, put 
spurs to their horses and endeavored to escape, but 
a volley from the guns of the Indians killed the 
horse of Sitz and wounded Lieut. Wormuth. who 
was at once tomahawked and scalj^ed — the '•Annals" 
says, by Brant himself, who had long been a per- 
sonal friend, but failed to recognize him in his un- 
iform and ever after lamented his sad mistake. — 
Sims, a later authority, denies that Brant was him- 
self the murderer. Sitz was captured but had the 
firesence of mind to destroy the despatches and sub- 
stitute false ones, which he also carried. The death 
of Lieut. Wormuth was no more tragic than that of 
many others but his youth, Une personal appearance 
and agreeable manners, attracted much attention 
and caused his fate to be remembered when that of 
others was forgotten in the excitement of those stir- 
ring times. 



HISTOEY OF CHERRY VALLEY. 1^) 

During the summer, stern necessity conipelling 
the settlers to cultivate their land, it \vas customary 
for the inhabitants to form themselves into little 
•companies and work touether: a iX)rtion standing 
guard while others lalKjred. 

In June of this year the neighboring hamlet of 
Springfield was burned by the Indians and a number 
of the inhabitants carried into captivity. 

The inhabitants of Cherry Valley had long be- 
.sought the Provincial (Tovernment for protection 
against Indian incursions and the matter being laid 
before Gen. Lafayette, an his visit to Johnstown, in 
the Spring of 1778. he ordered that a Fort be erected 
at Cherry Valley, and a garrison be sent for its pro- 
tection. The ^ort was accordingly built during the 
summer. It was situated in the Cemetery, near the 
C^hurch. and a stockade enclosed the two buildings, 
A regimt^nt under the command of Col. Ichabod 
Allen, was sent from Connecticut and took posses- 
sion of the Fort in the Fall. Unfortunately Col. 
Alden had no experience in Indian warfare and 
underestimated the courage and ferocity of the 
Indian. The mere presence of the troops he judged 
sufficient to intimidate the red men and refused to 
allow the settlers to move into the stockade, even 
after reports were brought to liim that the Indians, 
under their great Chief taiiL Josef)h Brant, were 
rendezvousing on the Susquehanna: where they had 
been joined by a body of Tories under Capt. Walter 
Butler, son of that C\)l. John Butler, who gained 
such an infamous notoriety from his participation in 
the Wvomi)it>- Massacre. 



14 HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY, 



(CHAPTER III. 

OHERRY VALLEY AT THE TLME OF THE MASSACRE. 

At tho time of the Ma^saere the Fort and the vil- 
lage ot* (MieiTv Valley, it' it may be called a village, 
romprisiuii: as it did only half a dozen houses and a 
church. — was situated in nnd around the , present 
Cemetery at the lower end of the village and at the 
upper end of a valley, resembling a Roman Amphi- 
theater in shape; being. a])parently. about six miles 
in length by one mile in width, and surrounded on 
all sides by gracefully sloping, wooded hills. Asa 
strict matter of fact the valley continues to the South, 
until it join-^ the larger valley of the Susquehanna, 
but it turn-! sharply to the right where the Westford 
hills rise, a mile or two below the village of Rose- 
boom, and is so hidden from view by the hills that 
it appears to end with them. The hills to the North 
of the village (n^er-look the Mohawk Valley; the 
.•streams on that side seeking the Ocean by way of 
the Mohawk, while those on the South side mingle 
with the waters of the Susquehanna. Some older 
geographers have contended that the latter river has 
its source in the Cherry Valley hills instead of in 
Otsego Lake. 



HISTORY OF CHEEKY VALLEY. 15 

Ou the hill at the upper eiul of the valley, in a 
direct line from Jie Ftjrt stood the log- house of 
<'ol. Samuel Campbell. «)ii the site of the residence 
now occupied as a summer home by his great-great- 
i4rand-children; a half mile to the east and on the 
.same level was the house and shop of James Moore, 
the blacksmith of the settlement, on the lands now 
owned by Elisha Flint, and North of him lived a 
Nelson family. About the same distance to the 
North of Col. Campbell's was the home of his father- 
in-law. Matthew Cannon, (disputed): while at an 
equal distance to the West, was the home of John 
Campbell, now tbe summer home of the writer. The 
present Ja(^kson Millson farn) was then occupied by 
a James Campbell. 

On the road to the West, leading to Springfield, 
lived the Kev. Samuel Dimlop at the foot of Living- 
ston's Glen, on the lands of Mrs A. B. Cox. There 
is a tradition that further up the Glen there was a 
sort of flax or carding mill, in which lived the family 
<»f the owner, whose name is not given. Following 
the Springfield road: the McClellans occupied the 
present Chauncey Steenburgh farm: James an<l 
William Campbell the Fred Blumenstock farm: the 
Coonrads. the farm now owned by Richard Bierman; 
the CuUeys the farm now occupied by C. W. Sherman 
and the Shanklands the Elijah Bush farm; Cape. 
M'Kean lived on the James Horton place and had 
the M'Kowiis as neighbors. The Wiggy Willsons, s<» 
<-alled. from the fact that the head of the family 



1() HISTORY (/F C'HERT?\ VALLEY. 

wore a wi.u;. to (listin'4;uish them from the other 

Willson family, lived in Irish Hollow. 

The Wells lived on a knoll about a third of a mile 
iSouth of the Fort, on the present Phelon farm, and 
on the hill to the West, on th? farm now owned by 
a descgndant, C^apt. James D. Clyde, was the home 
of Major CUyde. Further on were the McKellips on 
the present James Wikoff farm. Down the valley 
to the South of the Wells lived the Gaults on the 
Frank Campbell farm and the Dicksons on the pres- 
ent Mrs. (xeo. Head farm. On the opposite side of 
the vallej^ on the farm now occupied by a des- 
cendant. Louis (jr. Willson. lived John and James 
Willsou. and South of thein the Scotts, on the 
Wikoff farm. 

Nearly oi>[)()site the Fort, on the East side of the 
valley, lived the Thompsons, on the knoll near the 
Sulphur Spring-, further North. John Foster, on the 
farm now owned by E. L. Hinskley. Near the pres- 
ent Reservoir was the house and Saw Mill of Hugh 
iMitchell and. beyond, on the Marks farm, lived 
Patrick Davidson. Still further North, on the 
Dewitt C. (Campbell farm, was the house of a family 
named Co(^ns. John Mcxjre. tradition says, lived on 
the Elisha Moore farm a little over two miles East 
of the village, but it seems more probable that he 
should have erected his house on the hill to the 
West, over-looking the Mohawk Valley, now owned 
by Wm. H. Waldrcm. 

A further list miti:ht ]>e given but this is sufficient 



HISTORY OF CHLRRY VALLEY. 17 

to show the limits of the Massacre. It will be seen 
that the limits of what was known as the Cherry 
Valley settlement were, on the West and South, 
almost identical with the boundaries of the present 
town of Cherry Valley in those directions. To the 
East and North the boundaries were not much 
different than at present, but the Indians either did 
not reach the more distant houses, or the owners 
had sufficient warning so that they escaped to the 
Mohawk settlements. 

At the time of the Massacre most of the male in- 
habitants of Cherry V^alley, over the age of sixteen, 
were serving in the Continental Army, at distant 
points. At first thought it seems strange that the 
men who had lived all their lives among the Indians, 
and knew all their wiles and strategems, and were 
thoroughly acquainted with their methods of war- 
fare, should have been sent to the main armies and 
men unacquainted with the ways of the Indian be 
.sent to protect a frontier settlement. It can only be 
explained on the theory that experience had shown 
that when men were left to protect their home settle- 
ments, their zeal for the cause of patriotism was 
likely to be lost sight of in their desire to look first 
after their own interests and the improvement of 
their farms and material prospects. In the case of 
Cherry Valley it was a sad mistake. Had such men 
as Capt. M'Kean, Col. Campbell and Col, Clyde 
been at home, it is safe to say, the Indians would 
not have found the settlement so unprepared, and 



18 HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. 

that many of the lives lost in that horrible butchery 
would have been saved. 

Among the men who, by their ability, prominence, 
or zeal for the cause of patriotism, gave honor to 
Cherry Valley during the Revolutionary period, the 
first place must be given to the Rev. Samuel Dunlop. 
by reason of his age, great learning and the position 
he had so long occupied in the settlement. His 
great age prevented him from taking active part in 
the conflict but his advice was sought by all on 
matters jjertaining to the war, and the patriotism di-:- 
played by the inhabitants of this section was largely 
due to his influence. 

John Moore was the most prominent resident of 
the place during this period, though not distinguish- 
ed as a soldier, owing to his lameness. He was a 
delegate to the first, second, third, fourth and fifth 
Provincial Congresses; a member of the State Com- 
mittee of Safety, and several times a Member of 
Assembly. 

Capt. M'Kean, though not an educated man, was 
one of the leading men of the settlement by reason 
of his natural abilities and physical strength and 
endurance. In such times physique and agility were 
quite as important as mental training, and indeed 
were likely to give the j^ossessor greater prominence. 
M'Kean was accounted one of the most skillful 
Indian fighters in the country. He had command 
of a company of Rangers in the French war, and 
also during the Revolution. During the war he was 



HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. 19 

raised to the rank of Major. He was killed in the 
battle of Durlock, near Sharon Springs, in the sum- 
mer of 1781. 

Samuel Clyde, who was raised to the rank of Col., 
early in 1778, was one of the most prominent men 
and active patriots of the settlement. It is claimed 
that, after the death of Gen. Herkimer, the Officers 
wished to elect him Brigadier General in the place 
of Herkimer, but that he declined, on the ground 
that his advancement over the heads of Officers of 
high?r rank, would cause jealousies which would be 
injurious to the American cause. The failure to ap- 
point a successor to Gen. Herkimer is said to have 
been due to this refusal on the part of Mr. Clyde, 
who was then a Major. Col Clyde was a member 
of the State Assembly in 1777-8, and Sheriff of 
Montgomery County in 1785-9. 

Col. Samuel Campbell was one of the leaders of 
the settlement in all matters — social, religious, 
political and military. - He was a member of the 
Tryon County Committee of Safety and a Col. of the 
Tryon County Minute Men. His grand-son, the late 
Judge W. W. Campbell, author of the "'Annals of 
Tryon County,'" states that as the highest Officer left 
in command, he led off the troops after the Battle of 
Oriskany. Col. Campbell was the intimate friend of 
Gov. Clinton, and numbered among his friends most 
of the public men of the North. As late as 1802 he 
was a member of Assembly from Tryon County. 

James and John Willson were among the leading 



20 HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. 

and most influential residents. The Rev. Mr Swin- 
nerton, ni his "Historical Sketch of the Presbyter- 
ian Church of Cherry Valley/" states that the former 
was, in 1739, High Sheriff of A bany County, which 
then included all this part of the country. He came 
here first in that year, as a surveyor, in company 
with Mr. Lindesay, and later on settled here. Ht- 
was Commissary for the regiment stationed in the 
Fort. 

The Wells were the social leaders of this part of 
the Country. John Wells, who died just previous to 
the Revolution, was a King's Magistrate and his son 
Robert Wells, was a Major in the Tryon County 
Militia. The entire Wells family were killed in the 
Massacre, excejjt a son who was in Schenectady at 
the time. The latter was afterwards the famous 
New York lawyer — John Wells. 

James Cannon, although a young man, was a very 
active patriot and afterwards became a man of con- 
siderable importance in Otsego County, holding- 
several County offices. 

Hugh Mitchell and Thomas Shankland, though 
men of inferior education and social position, were 
nevertheless, by reason of their activity and patriot- 
ism, men of some condsideration in the settlement. 
The former was; in 1775, a member of the Schenec- 
tady Committee of Safety. Thomas Spence. the 
Indian interpreter, was also for a time a resident of 
Cherry Valley. He rendered valuable services to 
the Americans during the Revolution. 



HISTORY OF CHERKY VALLEY. 21 

There were a number ot others who. by reason of 
their activity in the cause of Liberty, are wortliy of 
mention, but the above list comprises those who 
might be termed the -leading men'" in the settle- 
ment. It is a remarkable list for a little frontier 
settlement of three hundred people. Not alone be- 
cause of the prominence of tliose mentioned, in the 
affairs of the western part of the Province, but also 
for the reason that so many of them were men of 
excellent social standing and superior education. — 
To the latter facts the former was doubtless due. — 
The Dutch of the Mohawk Valley though an excel- 
lent, sturtly and honest people, were not, as a rule, 
an educated class, and they readily yielded prece- 
dence to the brighter and more cultivated intellects 
of the Cherry Valley leaders, in their councils and 
deliberations, notwithstanding the fact that each dis- 
trict was. in military matters, very tenacious of its 
rights. 

It is interesting in this connection to note that 
many of the men who were the most prominent, 
during the Revoluti<jn and the years following, in 
the affairs of the Mohawk Valley, received their 
early education at Rev. Mr. Dunlop's school in 
Cherry Valley. The most notable of these was John 
Frey, for many years the most prominent resident of 
the Vallev. 



22 HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY, 



CHAPTER IV. 

THE MASSACRE. 

The morning of the 11th of November, 1778, 
found the people hilled into fancied security. The 
j)ositive assurances of Col. Alden that no attack was 
intended, his stationing outposts, fis he asserted, not 
in anticipation of danger but to quiet the apprehen- 
sions of the (utizens, the fact that he and several of 
his command slept outside the Fort, had removed 
the fears entertained, during the summer and fall, of 
an attack upon the settlement. Who can tell the 
shock of the awakening from this fancied security! 
Soon after daylight a horseman from Beaverdam rode 
in hot haste into the village, saying he had been fir- 
ed upon by Indians. Too late Col. Alden repented 
(»f his over-confidence. His scouts and outposts had 
shared in his confidence of safety and in their conse- 
quent carelessness had been captured by the ap- 
proaching forces. 

Hard upon the heels of the rider came Butler and 
Brant with a savage army, twice the number of all 
the men. women and children in the neighborhood. 



HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. 'I'i) 

On they came in that cold, drizzly. Noveinljer 
morning, bringing mutilation and death, or a yet 
more to be dreaded cai:)tivity to the peaceful, inno- 
cent inhabitants of the little Valley. There was not 
time either for citizens or soldiers to reach the Fort. 
Col. Alden. who was at the house of Mr. Wells, and 
whose over-confidence was the cause of theMs^ssjicrc. 
hastened toward his command. He was hotly pur- 
sued by an Indian, who called upon him to stop. 
The order not being obeyed, the savage threw his 
tomahawk wdiich hit the Colonel in the head, aiul 
this put him in the power of his dusky pursuer. He 
was killed and scalped. 

Meanwhile the bloody work had commenced in 
all parts of the little settlement. Many of the sol- 
diers were either quartered among the citizens or 
were making them friendly visits. Sixteen of them 
fell beneath the murderous tomahawk and fourteen 
were taken prisoners. Men, women, and children, 
were killed indiscriminately or were taken prisoners, 
according to the mood of the Indians or the yet 
more barbarous Tories. The Indian war whoop was 
heard in every direction, mingled with the screams 
of the affrighted and the cries and shrieks of the 
wounded and dying. 

Here a husband and father was killed while en- 
deavoring to protect his wife and children. There a 
mother was tomahawked while striving to guard her 
helpless offsj^ring. Children's brains were knocked 
out before the eyes of agonized parents. Wive.s 



24 HISTORY OF CHEERY VALLEY. 

wm-e killed while their husbands stood bound in the 
hands of the captofs. A few reached the Fort; some 
tied to the woods, preferring the chances of death by 
cold or starvation rather than certain destruction or 
capture at the hands of their barbarous enemies.- 
In a few hours the work of destruction and desolation 
was complete. What was at sunrise a fair and 
flourishing- settlement, with comfortable houses, well 
tilled barns and lowing herds, was at sunset a home- 
less waste, with only here and there a house, while 
amid the smouldering embers of the burned build- 
ings were found the charred bones of the victims of 
the unholy massacre. 

The house of Mr. Welfs was among the first attack- 
ed, the village having been entered at that point. — 
The family were engaged in their morning devotions 
when the Indians entered the house. Mr. Wells was 
tomakawked while offering supplications at the 
throne of Grace. The entire family, consisting of 
Mr. -dud Mrs. Wells, a brother and sister, three 
children and three domestics, were killed. One 
daughter, especially beloved for her kindness of heart 
and many christian graces, having escaped from the 
lujuse was pursued by an Indian who, as he approach- 
ed her, raised his tomahawk. She begged him, in 
the Indian language, to spare her life. A tory, who 
had been a servant in her father's family, and who 
knew her amiable qualities, stepped between her and 
the savage, and asked him to spare her life, claiming 
she was his sister. The Indian pushed him roughly 



HISTORY OP CHLRRY VALLEY. 25 

aside and buried his hatchet in the head of the in- 
nocent and pure hearted girl. One representative 
of the family was left, a boy, who was at school in 
Schenectady. He ultimately became a prominent 
lawyer in New York city One of his descendants 
wa? present at the unveiling cf the monument, erect- 
ed to the memory of the victims at the Centennial of 
the Massacre in 1878. 

The home of Rev. Mr. Dunlop, the venerable and 
beloved minister of the settlement, was attacked. — 
His life was spared through the influence of Little 
Aaron, an Indian Chief, who had attended Mr. 
Wheelock's school in Lebanon. Mrs. Dunlop was 
killed and mutiliated in his presence. He was taken 
prisoner, but was not retained. With a daughter he 
went to New Jersey, where he died the following 
year; never having recovered from the effects of the 
awful scenes through which he passed at the 
Massacre. 

The home of Mr. Mitchell was the scene of great 
barbarity. He was himself not in the house when 
the attack was made, though in sight of it. Seeing 
the impossibility of aiding his family, and hoping 
that his wife and children would be spared, he con- 
cealed himself until the party left the house. He 
returned immediately upon their leaving but it was 
to find Mrs. Mitchell and three children dead and 
bathed in their own blood. A fourth child was not 
(j^uite dead. — a little girl ten or twelve years of age. 
Taking her up tenderly he was endeavoring to restore 



26 HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. 

her to conssiousness when h3 saw another party 
approaching the house. He again concealed him- 
self and from his place of concealment he saw a 
white man, Newberry by name, cleave with his Hat- 
chet the head of his little daughter Newberry was 
hung, at Canajoharie, the following summer; Mr. 
Mitchell's testimony having much to do with his 
conviction. 

The Dickson's lived on a knoll about two miles 
below the Fort. Hearing the Indians approach Mrs. 
Dickson and her children climbed the precipitous 
hill back of their house and concealed themselves in 
the woods. Some time after the Indians had. 
apparently, all gone by, Mrs. Dickson, cautioning 
her children to remain in concealment, returned to 
the house in search of food. She was at once seized 
and killed by a i^arty of Indians who had remained 
behind as an ambuscade. The children lay in hid- 
ing all that day and the following night. The next 
morning the eldest child crept to the brink of the 
hill and found the Indians encamped a little below 
their home. One of the first sights she saw was a 
tall pole stuck in the ground, on which were hung a 
large number of human scali^s and conspicious over 
the rest was one of long fiery red hair which she 
knew at once had belonged to her mother.- Later in 
the day a scouting party brought the motherless 
children into the Fort. 

The first person killed in the Massacre was James 
(iault, one of the original settlers. His house was 



HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. 27 

half a mile North of the Dicksons and was, with that 
exception, the first house in the settlement in that 
direction. They had no notice of the approach of 
the Indians and the entire family was captured. — 
Mr. Gault was at once slain. The other members of 
the family were only retained in captivity a day or 
two. 

Col. Samuel Campbell was from home at the time 
of the attack. On his return he found neither 
mother, wife nor children. Later he learned that 
Mrs. Campbell and four children had been taken 
prisoners. When the house was attacked it had been 
vigorously defended by her father, Mr. Cannon. He 
was finally wounded and the family captured, with 
the exception of one child, who was concealed by the 
negro nurse. 

Among those who escaped captivity was the family 
of Col. Clyde. The Colonel was not at home, Mrs. 
Clyde, having learned of the attack, tied with her 
seven children and a negro lad, from the house be- 
fore the arrival of the Indians and Tories. With 
the aid of the lad she succeeded in keeping the 
children quiet in their concealment, although the 
savages passed within a few feet of their hiding place. 
She was taKen into the Fort the following morning, 
as was also a daughter, ten years of age, who was 
seperated from her when they fled from the house. 

A story is related of the escape of a family living 
in the Fulling mill in Livingston's Glen, which has 
in it a touch of humor, the only break in the record 



28 HISTl>KV OF t'HEKUV VALLEY. 

of tlio sad niul awfnl horrors of tlu» ^lassacnv. 
Hearing" the liulian outerios the mothm* hurriinl her 
ohiUlreu up the hank, on the side of tlioGhMi. Toll- 
iuu' them to oonooal themsolvos in tho bushes autl 
eautitniiuii" tluMU uuiU>r uo eireuiustauees to answer 
any ealls. no master by whom uiven. she sought 
auotlier hiiliui:; phiee anil eventually reaelieil the 
Fort without her ehililreu. The followinLj niornini;' 
i\ sooutiiig party tried to tiuil the ehildreu. but no 
answer was returned to their ealls and shouts, and 
finally, diseouraiied, they sent a party after the 
mother. She had no better sueeess. In vain she 
ealled them again and aj^ain. There was uo response. 
Heart brokeu in the belief that tlu> Indians had 
captured them slu> was about \o return \o the Fort 
wlieu one of the soldiers diseovmiHl tlnMU hudilled 
together, iu fear and trembliug. in a dense thii-ket 
of brush, eold and liunnry. but unharmed. 

As nioruiug drew on. the prisoners were assembltnl 
together and eomnuMu*ed their weary march down 
the valley, in a pitiless November storm. They en- 
camped about two miles from the village and. after 
a sleepless night, upon the disnuil monung of the 
twelfth, again started on their doleful way. Mrs. 
Cannon, on account of her age and i>therwise en- 
feebled condition, not being able to keep up with 
the party, was killed anil left by the wayside. A sad 
day's march and another sorrowful night, and then 
came the joyful announcement that the women and 
children were to be sent back, with the exception of 



^y, HISTOKV OK CHliKKV VAIJ.I.^. 2U 

I he families <jf~.Jtjhu Moon- and Saiautl ('aiii[jl)<-ll. 
whose proiu'wH-m-A' was Hueli tliid their laiuilic^H were 
carried into fi i(Jii^ and sever'.' eaptivily. An cx- 
rlian^c! was jiot made until near the ehjse r>f tlu' war. 
Among the eaj^tives was the late Janu-s (.*ampJ)ell. 
then a Ixjy of five or six years, who died al)f)nl 1H70. 

The Fort was attacked upon the 11th. hut the as- 
sailants were repulsed. An attack was a^^ain made 
<ni tlu! 12th. but wis<4y hecdintc the ren)ojistr;iiicc (if 
the cannon of the garrison tin- attficking [ifirty soon 
retired and soon after departed down tin- valley- 
Two hours after they hfid gone a e(jnij)any of (> ;i- 
tinental tnjcjps under c;(jniinand of Col. JMiiies 
(xordon, accompanied by a regitnent of the Molniwk 
Militia under CJol. Kloc;k, arrived at the Fort, liaving 
l)een notified by some ot the fugitives of the attack 
<m the settlement. They were too late to do more 
than help in c(jllecting the fugitives hidden in the 
woods and assist in burying the dead. 

The charred and mutilated reniains of those who 
had perished were colh^ctecJ and consigned to a 
common grave in the village cemetery. It was 
decided to abandon the settlement in which nothing 
wfis left except the Fort, the Church, and here and 
there a house. The cattle^ had been killed or driven 
away: the grain burned, antl the vegetables destroyed 
by fire or frost. Most of those who survived tin- 
Massacre wended their way to the Valley of the 
Mokawk. where they remained until the close of the 
war. The Fort was occupied until the following 



30 HISTORY OF C'HERRY VALLEY. 

summer, when the Regiment was ordered to join 
Clinton in the Sullivan expedition. 



HISTOKY OF CHERRY VALLEY. 31 



CHAPTER V. 

VARIOUS FACTS CONNECTED WITH THE MASSACRE. 

The number of the Indians and Tories engaged in 
the Massacre at Cherry Valley has been variously 
I'stimated at from seven to eight hundred. Campbell 
in his "Annals"" palaces the number at seven hundred, 
<'oniposed of five hundred Indians and two hundred 
Rangers. Another authority states that the force 
was about equally divided between Indians and 
Tories, while still another states that there were four 
hundred Tories engaged in the attack. As none of 
the authorities place the number at more than eight, 
or less than seven hundred, it may safely be assumed 
that the force numbered somewhat over seven 
hundred. 

The circumstances leading to the attack, as given 
in the Annals, were as follows: Capt. Walter Butler 
was taken prisoner while on a visit to Tryon county, 
in the summer of 1775, and confined in the Albany 
goal. Pretending sickness, he was transferred to a 
private house from which he effected his escape and 
joined his father at Niagara. Here he j^rocured com- 
mand of a part of the regiment known as 'Butler's 



.')2 HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. 

Rangers." together with permission to employ the 
Indian forces under Brant. Burning with a desire 
i'or vengeance lie at once started for Cherry Valley^ 
On his way he met Brant who was returning to 
winter quarters at Niagara. The latter reluctantly 
consented to accompany him, Campbell states, at 
displeasure of being placed under the command of 
Buth'r. Others take the more charitable view that, 
knowing the vindictive si^irit with which Butler was 
animated, he was fearful that the outrages which 
would be committed would sully his reputation for 
humanity, of which he was very tenacious. Strange 
as it may seem to the majority of people who are 
woefully ignorant of the true character of this 
remarkable man, it was doubtless fortunate for the 
inhabitants of Cherry Valley that he iSnally con- 
sented to join his forces with those of Butler. His 
whole effort during the Massacre seems to have been 
directed to protecting the women and children so far 
as he had the power. It is known that he endeavor- 
ed, by taking a short cut. to reach the house of Mr. 
Wells in advance of the Senecas, the most blood- 
thirsty of the Indians, and to whom most of the 
barbarities of the Massacre are to be traced, in order 
that he might protect them. Unfortunately he 
was delayed in crossing a large plowed field and ar- 
rived too late to save the lives of this very estimable 
family. Another act, showing his humanity, is 
related in the 'Annals': 

"In a house which he entered, he found a women 



HISTORY OF CHLRRY VALLEY, 33 

engaged in her usual business. "Are you thus 
engaged, while all your neighbors are murdered 
around you?"' said Brant. "We are king's people," 
she replied. "That plea will not avail you to-day. — 
They have murdered Mr. Wells' family, who are as 
dear to me as my own." "There is one Joseph Brant; 
if he is with the Indians he will save us." "I am 
Joseph Brant; but I have not the command, and I 
know not that I can save you; but I will do what is 
in my power." While speaking, several Senecas 
were observed approaching the house. "Gret into 
bed and feign yourself sick," said Brant hastily. 

When the Senecas came in, he told them there 
were no persons there, but a sick women and her 
children, and besought them to leave the house; 
^v'hich after a short conversation, they accordingly 
did. As soon as they were out of sight, Brant went 
to the end of the house, and gave a long shrill yell; 
soon after, a small band of Mohawks were seen cross- 
ing the adjoining field with great speed. As they 
came up, he addressed them — "Where is your paint? 
here, put my mark upon this woman and her children." 
As soon as it was done, he added, "You are now 
probably safe." She was not again molested. 

Brant's greatest act of mercy was in securing the 
return, to their homes, of the women and children 
captured at the time of the Massacre. That he 
did not also secure the release of the Campbell and 
Moore families was, doubtless, owing to the fact that 
Walter Butler insisted on retaining them in order 



34 HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. 

to obtain the release of his wife, who was held 
captive by the authorities of Tryon county, by effect- 
ing an exchange. 

The number killed in the Massacre is given at 
forty-eight, of which sixteen were soldiers of the 
garrison. The captives taken, has been variously 
estimated at from thirty to forty. The latter were 
all released the second day, and returned to their 
homes, with the exception of Mrs. Samuel Campbell 
and four children, Mrs.->-J€4i^n Moore and three 
daughters, Mr. Cannon, several officers and men. — 
Among the officers caj)tured, was Lieut. Col. Stacey. 
against whom Molly Brant had, for some unknown 
reason, a deadly hostility. In order to bring about 
his death, she resorted to the Indian method of 
dreaming. "She informed Col. Butler that she 
dreamed she had the Yankee's head, and that she 
and the Indians were kicking it about the Fort. — 
Col. Butler ordered a small keg of rum to be painted 
and given to her. This, for a short time appeased 
her, but she dreamed the second time that she had 
the Yankee's head, with his hat on. Col. Butler 
ordered another keg of rum to be given her, then 
told her, decidedly, that Col. Stacey should not be 
given up to the Indians. Col. Stacey was afterwards 
exchanged. 

The prisoners were taken to Kanedaseago, Mrs. 
Campbell carrying a child of eighteen months in her 
arms, the entire distance. Here the families were 
separated, the several members being adopted into 



HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. 35 

different Indian families. Mrs. Campbell was de- 
tained at Kanedaseago about a year and then re- 
moved to Niagara. Arrangements having been com- 
pleted for her exchange her children were again 
gathered together, with the exception of one boy of 
six or seven years. Later Mrs. Campbell found him 
awaiting her at Montreal, whither she was sent with 
her family. He had entirely forgotten his native 
tongue but spoke the Indian language fluently. 

At about the same time, Mrs. Moore and her 
children were exchanged and returned to Cherry 
Valley, with the exception of one daughter, Jane, 
who had, not long after her arrival at Niagara, 
married a Capt. Powell, an English officer of excel- 
lent reputation, with whom she remained in Canada. 

Sims, in his "Frontiersmen," relates the following 
anecdote, giving Brant himself as the authority: 

Among those captured at Cherry Valley was a 
man named Vrooman, with whom Brant was ac- 
quainted. Desiring to aid him in escaping the lat- 
ter, when the party was a few miles from the settle- 
ment, sent Vrooman back, about two miles, after a 
few strips of white bark, expecting that he would 
take advantage of the opportunity and escape to the 
Fort. Greatly to Brant's surprise and disgust, in a 
couple of hours, Vrooman came panting back, bring- 
ing with him the bark. 

Col. John Butler, naturally sensitive of the stigma 
which attached to the memory of his son, by reason 
of the inhumanities practiced at the time of the 



36 HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. 

Massacre, claimed that Brant's exhibition of human- 
ity was prompted by a desire to cast discredit on 
Walter Butler's humanity. Brant always strenuous- 
ly denied this, and pointed to his conduct at other 
places as evidence that he warred neither on women 
nor children. 



HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. 3? 



CHAPTER VI. 

THE FINAL DESTRUCTION OF THE SETTLEMENT. 

Although the greater i^art of the inhabitants of 
Cherry Valley sought more protected places of 
residence, immediately after the Massacre, a few 
hardy settlers still clung to their homes, doubtless 
in the belief that there was so little in the way of 
plunder left to repay them that the Indians would 
not make another attack, or perhaps, in this poverty, 
dreading more the seeking of new homes among a 
strange people than the chance of an attack from the 
Indians. 

Only two incidents of especial moment occurred 
during the early winter following the Massacre. — 
The first was the killing, by the Indians, of John 
Thompson, a son of Alexander Thompson, a resident 
of Cherry Valley, who had fled to the Mohawk at 
the time of the Massacre. Young Thompson, wh(j 
was a promising youth of about twenty, had started 
to ride up from the Mohawk with a party of young 
men, to visit his former home. When at almost the 
identical spot at which Lieut. Wormuth (the early 
spelling of this name seems to have been Wormwood) 



'^S HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY, 

was slain, they were fired upon by a party of Indians 
and Thompson was instantly killed. The remainder 
of the party escaped. 

The other incident which occasioned considerable 
talk at the time, was the hanging of Wiggy Willson. 
Willson's sympathies were known to be with the 
tories and he was suspected by the settlers of acting 
as a spy on the settlement. At about the time of 
the killing of young Thompson, and perhaps in con- 
sequence of that act, the garrison became suspicious 
that the Indians contemplated another attack on the 
settlement. It was thought that Wiggy Willson 
might be able to give information regarding the 
intentions of the Indians. Accordingly a party, 
composed of settlers and soldiers, visited him and 
demanded that he should inform them as to the 
intentions of his red friends. Unfortunately for 
himself he could not give the desired information; 
doubtless for the reason that he was as ignorant of 
the matter as his neighbors. The latter had, how- 
ever, little faith in Wiggy's sincerity, and, believing 
that a little '"moral suasion" was needed, produced a 
rope and in a moment he was swinging from a 
convenient appletree. Leaving him thus suspended 
a sufficient length of time to convince him of their 
earnestness, and to give him a fair idea of the un- 
pleasantness of that means of ending life, he was let 
down to the ground. The shock had however added 
neither to his knowledge nor imagination and he 
was again suspended in the air. This time he was 



HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. *M) 

Tillowed to hang so long that it was only after much 
labor that his blood was started in circulation. — 
Frightened at their narrow escape from committing 
murder the settlers took a hasty departure, leaving 
the rope with Wiggy alike as a warning and a 
memento. The episode created a good deal of un- 
favorable comment at the time but it completely 
cured Wiggy of his tory proclivities. 

Brant, when some time after he heard (jf a reflec- 
tion made on his cruelty, by a resident of Cherry 
Valley, retorted that "he had never himself made 
war on women or children, nor," he added with em- 
phasis "hanged a neighbor on suspicion.'' 

John Foster was another resident whose Toryism 
was more pronounced than that of Wiggy Willsou. 
Brant himself visited him the summer preceeding 
the Massacre and there is little doubt but that he 
was in constant communication with the Indian and 
Tory leaders. It seems somew^hat singular but ap- 
X)arently after the war all ill feeling between the 
patriots and the tories apj)ears to have been dropped, 
so far at least as this settlement was concerned, — 
Foster continued to live here many years after the 
close of war and was always well treated. In fact 
"Old Jacky Foster" became quite j)opular during his 
later years. Foster and Willson were both illiterate 
men. 

During the following summer occured the remark- 
able defence and escape of Robert Shankland, of 
which all the Border Histories of New York speak. 



40 HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. 

Mr. Shankland, having taken his family to the 
Mohawk after the Massacre, returned the following 
summer with his son, a boy of about 14 years, to 
harvest his crops. He was awakened one night by a 
jDOunding on the door of his log cabin. Getting up 
he found that the Indians were trying to chop 
through the door with their tomahawks. Taking 
his spear in his hand he suddenly opened the door 
and charged on the Indians. Surprised at the 
suddenness of the unexpected attack they retreated 
a few feet, followed bj^ Mr. Shankland, who. in driv- 
ing his spear at one of them, struck it in a log so 
hard that he broke the handle in trying to pull it 
out. Stooping down he grasped the blade, and 
wrenching it from the log, returned to the house 
without a shot being fired at him. Awakening his 
son he took his guns and began returning the fire 
which the Indians now commenced on the house, the 
boy loading as he tired. Despairing of accomplish- 
ing anything by this method of warfare, the Indians 
gathered a quantity of inflammable material, and 
placing it against the side of the cabin, fired it. — 
During the excitement attendant upon this the boy 
attempted to escaj^e from the house but was captured 
by the Indians. He was some time afterwards re- 
leased. When he grew to manhood he moved to 
Cooperstown and became a person of considerable 
importance, having been a National Elector in 1808. 
Mr. Shankland kept up his firing on the Indians, 
until the heat became too great for him to remain 



HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. 41 

longer in the burning building, when he bethought 
himself of a cellar door close up to which grew a 
field of hemp. Creeping through this he was fortun- 
ate enough to escape through the hemp unperceived 
by the Indians, who continued dancing, yelling and 
shooting around the house until it was burned to 
the ground. Then they continued on their way, 
happy in the thought that the bones of the supposed 
victim were buried in the ashes of his dwelling. 

The peace of the settlement was undisturbed dur- 
ing the following year and confidence was beginning 
to return to the settlers, when, without warning, on 
the 24th. of April, 1780, a party of seventy-nine 
Indians and two tories descended on the ill-fated 
settlement. Eight of the settlers were killed and 
fourteen carried into captivity, and the settlement 
was this time comi3letely wiped out of existance; the 
Fort, church and the few buildings left after the first 
incursion being burned to the ground. Thus in a 
few hours were the results of the labors and struggles 
of nearly forty years destroyed; the valley returned 
again into the undisputed possession of the beasts 
and the birds, and Cherry Valley, a few years before, 
the largest and most prominent of the Frontier 
settlements of New York, was but a name. 



42 HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. 



CHAPTER VII. 

THE BE-SETTLEMENT OF CHERRY VALLEY. WASH- 
INGTON'S VISIT, 

The war was not fairly ended before the inhabi- 
tants, who had been scattered during the war, 
began to re-seek their old homes. It was truly a 
sad returning. No vestige of their once populous 
and flourishing settlement was left. Even the ruin- 
ed foundations of their buildings were concealed 
amid the berry bushes and alders, which grew lux- 
uriantly in the ground enriched by the ashes from 
their burned dwellings. The fields, once cleared with 
great labor, were covered over with sumach and 
poplar, intermingled with cherry and maple ; while 
the fences, marking the boundaries of their farms, 
or forming enclosures for their cattle, had been either 
burned by the Indians, destroyed by roving beasts, 
or rotted by the elements. The settlers who, return- 
ing from their grand struggle for liberty, poor in 
worldly goods and broken in health, laid the second 
foundations of Cherry Valley had need of even 
braver hear'ts and more stern determination than 
those who, forty years before, had laid the original 



HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. 43 

foundations. Their trials during the Revolution had 
titted them for the task and they bravely faced the 
labors and hardships which awaited them. The 
struggle though hard was not long. Soon after peace 
was • declared that great exodus from the Eastern 
States to the vast, and then unknown, West, which 
has continued uninterruptedly from that day to this, 
was begun. Lying on the main routes between the 
two sections, Cherry Valley, alike by the beauty of 
its scenery, its former fame, and the reputation of 
its inhabitants, attracted many of the emigrants and 
in a few years it was again the largest settlement 
south and west of the Mohawk. 

In October, 1788, the settlement was honored with 
a visit from "the Father of his Country." Gen. 
Washington, accompanied by Gens. Clinton and 
Hand, and a number of other military officers and 
aides, rode up from Albany, by way of the Mohawk 
Valley, stopping to dine with Col. Samuel Clyde, 
then in command of the Fort at Canajoharie, on the 
12th, and arriving at Cherry Valley the same after- 
noon. The distinguished party was entertained by 
Col. Samuel Campbell, at his newly re-built log 
cabin, until the following day, when they visited Ot- 
sego Lake ; returning to the Mohawk by the old 
Continental road. 

It is related in tradition that a reception was given 
in honor of the party, the entire settlement gather- 
ing in the main room of the cabin, and that Wash- 
ington and his companions sat up until well into the 



44 HISTORY OF CHEKKY VALLEY, 

morning, listening; to the wild border tale.-; vividly 
related by the bolder among- the settlers. And we 
are told that Robert Shankland. standing- in the 
middle of the room, "fought his great battle o'er."' 
with all the earnestness and zeal that characterized 
the real tight. 



HISTORY OF CHEKRy VALLEY. 45 



CHAPTER VIII. 

EARLY CHURCH SOCIETIES. 

As their fathers, when they settled in this wikler- 
ness, whose virgin beauty had never been marred by 
human hands, after they had buihled their hum- 
ble homes, turned their thoughts towards the erection 
of a House to God, so the exiles returning to the 
settlement whose every hill and dale showed the 
desolating marks of human barbarity, having on the 
ruins of their former homes erected again their rude 
dwellings, places for their temporal shelter, turned 
their thoughts toward their spiritual welfare. On 
the 5th of October, 1785, at a meeting of the "ancient 
inhabitants," for so the call reads, the Presbyterian 
Society was re-organized and Col. Samuel Clyde. 
John Campbell, jr., and James Willson were duly 
elected Trustees thereof. The names of the electors 
voting were as follows : Robert Shankland, Wm. 
Thompson, Samuel Ferguson. James Moore, jr.. John 
Campbell, jr., Hugh Mitchell Wm. Gault. James 
Cannon, Samuel Campbell, jr., Samuel Clyde, Sam- 
uel Campbell, Wm. Dickson, James Dickson, Daniel 
McCoUum, John McKellip, Israel Wilson. Luther 
Rich, James Wilson, Thomas Whitaker, Benjamin 
Dickson and John Dunlap. 



4() HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. 

In this list we find but two new names. The 
others are all those of pre -Revolutionary settlers. — 
The two new residents voting were Thomas Whiticar 
And Luther Rich. The latter was a wealthy and 
prominent citizen and represented Otsego County 
in the Legislature for many years, both as Assembly- 
man and Senator. The list is interesting as show- 
ing that the great influx from the East had just 
commenced. It was, however, very rapid from this 
time onward, for four years later we find the old 
residents far outnumbered b}' the new. comers. 

Though for several years after the re-organization 
of the Presbyterian Society no regular Pastor was 
stationed here, we learn, in various ways, that the 
Gospel was preached at irregular intervals by visit- 
ing ministers, mainly of the Presbyterian faith, 
although the inhabitants, the majority of whom were 
of that denomination, showed their freedom from 
bigotry, by freely attending services held by min- 
isters of other denominations. 

As early as 1787 we find the Rev. Mr. Russell, an 
Episcopal clergyman, of Connecticut, making the 
long journey from that State to Cherry Valley, at 
stated intervals, and here expounding the word of 
God alike to Episcopalian and Presbyterian. He 
continued making these trips until 1794, and the 
records are still extant of a number of marriages 
solemnized by him during that time. Whether, in 
view of the fact that the place was not during the 
decade from 1795 to 1805, sufficiently populous and 



HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. 47 

wealthy to support two ministers, there was a friend- 
ly agreement between the Ejiiscopalians and Presby- 
terians to unite, or whether it was a case of "the 
survival of the fitest," or in plainer English of the 
stronger, does not apj)ear; but that one or the other 
was the case is apparent from the following facts: 
During the time the Rev. Mr, Eussell held Ejjisco- 
pal services there was no Presbyterian minister 
stationed here. Following the disoontinuence of 
Mr. Russell's visit in 1794-5 the Presbyterians 
secured the regular services of the Rev. Eliphalet 
Nott, who continued to act as their Pastor until 
179y; about the time that the celebrated Father 
Nash began to hold Episcopal services here. The 
latter continued his labors in chis field until 18()(). 
during which time the Presbyterians were without 
a minister, except for a brief period in 1808-4. — 
After that time the Presbyterians evidently became 
again the controlling factor in the religion of the 
town for in 1806 the Episcopalian society went out 
of corporate existance, while the Presbj^terians con- 
tinued to grow and flourish. 

The Ei)iscopalians seem to have been organized 
into a regular society as early as 1797, but it was not 
regularly incorporated until 1803, when it was duly 
incorporated under the title of "Trinity Episcopal 
Church." The Wardens and Vestrymen elected at 
that time were as follows: Ephraim Hudson and Eli- 
jah Holt, Wardens ; Benjamin Gilbert, James Scott, 
John Dutcher, John Walton, John Marshall and Cy- 



48 HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. 

renus Stoddard, Vestrymen. Regular services were 
discontinued in 1806 but, as will appear later, it is 
probable that the corporation did not go out of legal 
existence until the organization of the present So- 
ciety. 

At some time between 1786 and 1790 the Presby- 
terians erected a Meeting House to supply the place 
of the frame Church destroyed at the time of the 
Massacre. At just what time the erection of this 
church edifice was begun is not known, nor when 
it was completed, but as the early Geographical 
Cyclopedias in speaking of Cherry Valley always 
mention the Church as a very "commodious and 
handsome building," the presumption is that the 
building was begun on a more pretentious plan than 
the means of the parish were equal to, and thit 
accordingly it was several years in building. 

It is an interesting fact, reminding us somewhat 
of the early Puritans, with their odd but necessary 
custom of carrying their guns to church, that when 
the Meeting called to re-organize the Presbyterian 
Church had performed its labors, another Meeting 
was at once held to organize a Company of Militia, 
or rather to re-organize the old Company which had 
been in existence j)rior to, and during, the Revolu- 
tion. No difficulty was found in securing the proper 
officers, — the number of men in early Militia Com- 
panies seems to have been a minor consideration, — - 
except that no officer could be found of the rank of 
Major. The company therefore proceeded to ap- 



HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. 49 

point its own Major in the person of James Thomp- 
son, a worthy man who had served with credit during 
the war. Although he never received any more 
formal commission, he lived and died "Major'' 
Thompson, and it is related that during his later 
years he was exceedingly proud of having been pro- 
moted "on the field." A second Company of Militia 
was organized in 1799, and Cherry Valley became 
soon after quite a Military centre, and continued 
such until the opening of the Civil War. 

A recruiting officer for the United States Army 
made his head quarters here as early as 1795,— 
Beardsley, in his "Reminiscences," states that in 
1798 the recruiting officer for "John Adams' Army", 
as it was called, found it necessary to punish an 
obstreperous recruit by having him tied to a small 
sapling, back of the Academy, and thoroughly flog- 
ged. The tree, now a hugh elm, still stands on Mrs, 
Olcott's land to the south-east of the old Academy 
lot. 



50 HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. 



CHAPTER IX. 



EARLY TAVERNS. 



During the Summer of 1786 Thomas Whitaker 
erected a Tavern on the corner of Montgomery and 
Genesee streets — on the site of the old Tryon House. 
This is the first hotel, in this section of the country, 
of which we have any authenticated record. There 
is a tradition that there was a Tavern i3revious to the 
Revolution, on the present Moore projjerty, opposite 
the Cemetery. This is quite possible, and indeed is 
very probable, since a settlement of three hundred 
people would be likely to have furnished ample sup- 
port for a Tavern, in those free drinking days, but 
we find nothing but the presumption to attest 
attest to the truth of the traditon regarding it. A 
Tavern was, however, erected on this site a few years 
after the Revolution. This house, which was at the 
time the oldest building in the village, was torn 
down some ten or fifteen years ago. 

The story is frequently told that there was a Tav- 
ern on the site of the present Raymond Eckerson 
house, in which Washington slept while here. This 
is, of course, an idle story, born in some fertile 



HISTORY or CHERRY VALLEY. 51 

imagination, but it has found many believers. The 
proof that Gen. Washington stayed at Col. Camp- 
bell's, while here, is unquestionable, and it is a fur- 
ther authenticated fact that there were no houses 
within the present village limits, at the time of 
Washington's visit. The Tavern on the Eckerson 
lot was built, about 1793, by Benjamin Johnson and 
was kept by him, and afterwards by Ezekiel John- 
son, for many years. About the same time a Tavern 
was built, on the present site of the Central Hotel, 
by John Walton. Walton's Tavern was the most 
popular hostelry in this part of the State until 
William Story erected his famous Tavern, at the up- 
per end of the village, about 1812. The latter was 
for many years the most famous Inn between Albany 
and Canandaigua and was the favorite stopping place 
of the leading men of the (then) West, on their way 
to and from the State Capital. 

On the 6th day of May, 1800, Ephraim Hudson, 
Supervisor, and Joseph White and Elijah Holt, 
Justices, met as a Board of Excise at the house of 
John Walton and granted Licenses to the following 
Inn or Tavern keepers, viz : John Walton, Thomas 
Whitaker, Ozias Waldo, Naphtily Woodburn, Benja- 
min Johnson, Stephen Frink and Edward Williams, 
jun. These men are all certified to as being of good 
moral character, and it is further certified that "it is 
absolutely necessary for the benefit of travel that a 
Publick Inn or Tavern be kept" at the several places 
mentioned. Two years later licenses were again 



52 HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. 

granted to the above, except that John R. Whitaker 
had succeeded his father Thomas Whitaker, and to 
the following additional Inn keepers : Wm. Dick- 
son, jun., Moses Woodburn, Daniel Clark, Elisha 
Flint, and Samuel Campbell, jun. Licenses were 
also granted to John Diell, Peter Magher and Moses 
Woodburn, store-keepers. This gives an excellent 
idea of the growth of travel, in this part of the State, 
during the two first years of the present Century. — 
There is no record that there was any charge for 
licenses at this time. After 1812, for many years, the 
charge for a Hotel license was $7., and for Store- 
keeper's license |5. 

It is somewhat remarkable that nearly all of the 
early Inn-keepers accumulated fortunes, although the 
charge for meals or lodging was only six pence and 
whiskey sold for three pence a glass. 



HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. 5^ 



CHAPTER X. 

FORMATION OF THE TOWN AND COUNTY. 

Ill 1791 Otsego county was formed from Mont- 
gomery county, and an effort was made by tlie resi- 
dents to have Cherry Valley appointed the County 
Seat. Owing to its more central location and the 
influence of the Coopers, combined, if we are to be- 
lieve tradition, with political manipulation which 
would cause a modern '•machine i^olitician"' to blush. 
Cooperstown, then in its infancy, secured the coveted 
prize. Cooperstown did not, however, in many years 
become a rival of Cherry Valley in general impor- 
tance. -James Cannon was apj)ointed the first Sur- 
rogate of the County, and it is a little remarkable 
that he was also the first representative from this 
County in the State Legislature ; holding at the 
same time the office of Surrogate and Member of 
Assembly. At the time of its formation the towns 
of Otsego and Cherry Valley, both formed at this 
time, constituted the entire County. Previous to 
this all this section had been included in the town 
of Canajoharie. 

The first Supervisor of the Town of Cherry Valley 
was the afterwards renowned Dr. Joseph White.— 
John Bull was the first Town Clerk. The latter held 



54 HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. 

the office of Town Clerk for a number of years, re- 
ceiving the very modest compensation of five dollars 
a year for his services. 

It is an interesting fact, for several reasons, and 
especially as showing that frauds in voting, and ille- 
gal elections, are not of recent invention, that the 
vote of Cherry Valley at the first State election, after 
the formation of the town, was thrown out as illegal. 
The indirect result of this was the election of George 
Clinton as Governor, and the consequent defeat of 
Chief Justice Jay for that office. The reasons lead- 
ing to the throwing out of the vote of this town — 
which necessitated the throwing out also of the vote 
of the county, — may be briefly stated : The election 
was held in April, 1792. Benjamin Gilbert, had been 
appointed Sheriff' on the 80th of March, but did not 
(qualify until the 11th of May. On May 3rd, Richard 
R. Smith, whose term of office had nominally ex- 
pired on the 18th of February, forwarded to the Sec- 
retary of the State Board of Canvassers the votes of 
the Town of Cherry Valley with the proper certifi- 
cate signed by himself as Sheriff. 

The question was at once raised by the Clinton 
party, acting under the advice of Aaron Burr, then 
one of the foremost men in the state, that Smith was 
not legally Sheriff' — his term of office having expir- 
ed, — and had no authority to act as such, and that 
therefore the returns were null and void. The 
Clintonians, being in the majority on the Board of 
Canvassers, accordingly threw out the vote of Otsego 



HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. OO 

county. As Clinton only received 108 majority, and 
Otsego county gave Jay abtmt 400, it will be seen 
that Cherry Valley at its first election, exerted a 
very decided influence in the affairs of the state 
though in a negative sort of a way. 

The contest over this incident, which was con- 
tinued, in and out of the Legislature, for over a year, 
resulted in an attempt to impeach William Cooper, 
father of the novelist, then first Judge of Otsego 
county. Although the attempt at impeachment fail- 
ed, it was shown that he had encouraged illegal vot- 
ing in favor of Mr, Jay, and discouraged legal voting 
against him. even to the extent of threatening to use 
his authority as Judge against th(jse expressing an 
intention of voting for Mr. Clinton. As Judge Coop- 
er was a man of high standing in the community it 
.shows that politics in the last Century were not as 
pure as some suppose them to have been. 



."ifi HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY, 



CHAPTER XI. 

FROM 1795 TO 1800. 

The decade ending with 1795 was a prosperous 
one for the now flourishing village. The tide 
of emigration was sweeping westward and the 
country for fifty miles beyond the borders of the 
county of Otsego was dotted with rude farm houses, 
while here and there settlements were springing up. 
Cherry Valley, as yet the largest village, profited by 
the increased emigration, not only from the trade 
that flowed to it from all the country to the west, 
but also because of the benefits derived from its be- 
ing on the main thoroughfares to the regions beyond. 

During this time the Academy was re-established 
and a commodious building, forty by sixty feet, was 
erected. In 1795 the Academy had about sixty 
students, a remarkably large number for those times 
and a proof of the extended reputation which it 
must already have acquired. It was during this 
time that the Rev. Soloman Spaulding, the princi- 
pal of the Academy, wrote the Biblical romance, 
which afterwards fell into the hands of Joseph Smith, 
and was adopted by him as the basis of the Mormon 



HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. 57 

Bible. Soon after this the Trustees of the Academy 
called for Mr. Spaulding's resignation. 

In 1795 the population of Cherry Valley, which 
then included the present Worcester towns, Spring- 
field and Roseboom, was little short of 8000, yet the 
poj)ulation of the village itself, although it was still 
the most important village west of Schenectady, was 
less than 350, and contained only 36 houses. From 
this time on, the growth of the village was pro- 
portionately more rapid than that of the surround- 
ing country. Business men and storekeepers rushed 
in to supiDly the growing trade of the country, while 
lawyers, doctors, and other professional men, sought 
this as a central location in which to follow their 
professions. More hotels were needed to accom- 
modate the ever increasing stream of travel and black- 
smiths could hardly be found in sufficient numbers 
to supply the demand. Shoemakers, wheel-wrights, 
carpenters, and artisans of various kinds, made their 
way here and added to the growth and prosperity of 
the place. The Academy, too, increased greatly in 
members, from 1796 to 1798, under the direction of 
the renowned Dr. Nott, who in later years, as Pres- 
ident of Union College, left the stamp of his indiv- 
iduality on so many generations of "Old Union's" 
sons. 

An additional impetus was given to the growth of 
the village by the building of the Great Albany Turn- 
pike, the first of those great arteries which carried the 
stream of travel to the west, until the building of the 



58 HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY, 

Erie Canal diverted it to the valley of the Mohawk. 
The charter for this road was granted in 1799 and 
authorized the building of a Turnpike, beginning 
at the city of Albany and running through various 
towns to a terminus at the hotel of John Walton, in 
the village of Cherry Valley. In 1800 a charter was 
granted for the building of a Turnpike from Cherry 
Valley to the foot of Skaneatles Lake. James Feni- 
more Cooper, in his Chronicles of Cooperstown, 
speaks of a charter being granted in 1794 for a state 
road running from Albany, through Cherry Valley, 
to Cooperstown, but we find no evidence of such a 
road having been built. Cooper says that it took 
the entire day to drive from Cooperstown to Cherry 
Valley in 1795, a distance of thirteen miles. At this 
time the journey from Cherry Valley to Albany took 
about five days. Twenty-five bushels of wheat was 
considered a load. Wheat, delivered in Albany, was 
worth from $1.50 to $1.75 a bushel. 

In 1797, the towns of Middlefield, Springfield and 
Worcester, were formed from Cherry Valley, reduc- 
ing its population from 3000 to 1600. This re- 
duction in the size of the town was not, however, 
felt by the village since it still remained the trading 
centre of the new towns. 

On the 8th of February, 1796, the Cherry Valley 
Academy was regularly incorxjorated under the Re- 
gents of the State of New York. The Charter, which 
is signed by John Jay, Chancellor of the University, 
and DeWitt Clinton, Secretary, names Eli Parsons, 



HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. 59 

Luther Rich, Benjamin Rathbone, Lester Holt, 
Samuel Campbell, Ephraim Hudson, Ozias Waldo, 
C. P. Yates, William White, jr., Robert Dickson, 
Thomas Whitaker, Simeon Rich, Joseph White, Eli 
jah Holt and Richard Edwards, as Trustees. An 
eminently respectable Board, and one that, it is to be 
feared, the place could not now, over a hundred years 
later, duplicate, either in prominence, ability, wealth 
or social standinjjj. 

At the close of the last Century, Cherry Valley 
had already become celebrated, throughout the 
country, as the home of many noted men, among 
whom were the Rev. Eliphalet Nott, afterwards the 
most famous College President of his day; Dr. 
Joseph White, then a leading member of the State 
Senate and later the leading physician of the State ; 
Dr. William Campbell, afterwards State Engineer 
and Surveyor and a member of the Board of Regents; 
Judge Ephraim Hudson, a man of extended reputa- 
tion for ability and worth; Gen. Elijah Holt, for 
many years prominent in Military circles; Isaac 
Seeley, one of the leading lawyers of the State; Sen- 
ator Luther Rich, a prominent factor in the politics 
of this section of the State ; Senator Robert Rose- 
boom, a member of the Council of Appointment; 
Col. Samuel Campbell, of Revolutionary fame; Col. 
Libbeus Loomis, a prominent member of the "Cin- 
cinnatti Society;" James Cannon, the first Surrogate 
and first member of Assembly of the county; Benja- 
min Gilbert who enjoyed the unusual distinction of 



60 HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. 

being four times Sheriff of the county; Eli Parsons. 
Major Lester Holt, Capt. Jerome Clark, C. P. Yates, 
Simeon Rich, Ephraim Hudson, Jr., Ozias Waldo. 
John Walton, Peter Magher, Robert Dickson, Hor- 
ace Ripley, John Bull, Robert Dunlap and Thomas 
Whitaker — all men of consideration, either because 
of their ability, wealth, influence, or social position. 
One of the "characters" of that day was an old 
seaman, named William Cook, who was the "Ben 
Pump" of Cooper's "Pioneers." All of the men 
mentioned were residents of Cherry Valley between 
1795 and 1800. 

It is worthy of note that Cherry Valley was even at 
this early date, a place of considerable wealth. The 
early tax books show that there was more personal 
l^roperty here than in any town west of Schenectady. 

In this connection it is to be remembered that 
wealth is always relative. As nearly as we can judge 
the purchasing power of money was from four to five 
times greater than it now is. Thus, as has been 
mentioned, meals at a hotel were six pence and whis- 
key three pence a glass; men were paid two shillings 
a day, for ordinary labor, and boys a shilling. Some 
things were, of course, worth proportionately more, 
and some less, but the average shows the purchasing 
power of money to have been about as stated. Lux- 
uries were generally high but the necessaries of life 
cost practically nothing. Wood could be had for 
the cutting, clothes were mainly home made, while 
butter, milk and meat, were worth comparatively 



HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. 61 

nothing. Little money passed hands in ordinary 
transactions, especially in the farming districts. A 
man working for a farmer was exj)ected to take his 
pay in farm produce, or in orders on store-keei^ers, — 
which would be paid in produce. Old contracts 
show that the rent of a good farm, of from one to two 
hundred acres, was from fifteen to twenty-five dol- 
lars a year. Farms were usually rented for a term 
of from ten to twenty-five years. Between the 
amount of money in circulation, then and now, the 
disproportion was much greater. Although the 
l^lace was noted for its wealth it is doubtful if a man 
in it was worth ten thousand dollars in 1800. Elisha 
Flint, who died in 1806, was considered a very well- 
to-do business man and yet his estate inventoried 
only $3742.88. 



62 HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY, 



CHAPTER XII. 

CHERRY VALLEY AT THE BEGINNING OF THE PRESENT 
CENTURY. 

In 1800 Cherrj' Valley, although it contained less 
than five hundred inhabitants, was the most impor- 
tant village west of Schenectady. Commercially it 
was in advance of that city. Buffalo and Rochester 
had not yet been settled and, indeed, most of the 
country in the western part of the State was a wilder- 
ness. A number of villages rivalled this in the 
number of their people, but they did not compare 
with it in influence or traffic. The completion of 
the first Great Western Turnpike brought a vast 
addition to its trade, which was still further increas- 
ed by the building of the second and third Great 
Western Turnpikes ; the former chartered in 1801 
and the latter in 1808 — both running through Cher- 
ry Valley. 

Among those who took up their residence here in 
the early part of the Century were: Jabez D. Ham- 
mond, Levi Beardsley, James O. Morse and James 
Brackett, — all of whom became men of great in- 
fluence in the State, and Rev. Eli F. Cooley, a dis- 



HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. ()H 

tinguished scholar and divine. In view of the fewness 
of College educated men, in those days, it is worthy 
of note that four of these six men were College grad- 
uates: Brackett from Dartmouth. Morse from Union, 
Cooley from Princeton and Stewart from a Vermont 
College. This fact is rendered the inore noticeable 
wdien we recall that at no time within the past twenty- 
live years have there been more than half a dozen 
College graduates rmcng the residents of Cherry 
Valley. 

The influence that Cherry Valley exerted in the 
early part of the present Century is shown by the 
fact that the State Senator from this district was 
usually taken from here. Thus we find Dr. Joseph 
White representing the district in the Senate in 
17S6-7-8-9 ; Kobert Roseboom in 18C0-1-2-3-4:- 
Luther Rich in 1808-9-10-11; Jabez D. Hammond 
in 1818-19-20-21. The latter was also a member of 
Congress in 1815-16-17. Of these men White, 
Roseboom, and Hammond, were members of the 
powerful Council of Appointment, which controlled 
practically all the offices in the State including most 
of the county offices. Cherry Valley was also well 
reijresented in the Assembly. The early repre- 
sentatives from this town in that body were 
Elijah Holt, 1798, Benjamin Gilbert, 1799, Robert 
Roseboom, 1800, Samuel Campbell, 1802, James 
JMoore and Luther Rich, (two from this town), 1803, 
Luther Rich, 1806, Rob't. Roseboom, 1807-8, Benj. 
Gilbert, 1810, RoVt. Roseboom, 1811-12-14, Wm, 



64 HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. 

Campbell and Oliver Judd, 1816. (2). Wm. Camp- 
bell, 1817, John Moore 1818. About this time a 
fight arose between Cherry Valley and the rest of 
the connty and it was some years before the former 
regained its old influence, so that for a number 
of years it was unrepresented in the State Legislature. 

In 1806, Trinity Lodge, No. 189, F. & A. M., was 
organized and continued in operation until 1814. 
when it suspended until 1817. It was finally dis- 
banded in 1828, and was not resurrected again until 
1854, since which time it has been in successful 
operation. A Koyal Arch Chapter was instituted in 
1818. Its Charter was allowed to lapse in 1828. The 
Lodge was very active, in 1824, in rendering as- 
sistance to the Greeks in their struggle for freedom. 
A considerable amount of clothing and munition was 
collected and forwarded to Greece. Most of the 
men prominent in the history of the town, in the 
early part of the Century, were members of the Lodge 
and Chapter, includinof Joseph White, Delos White. 
Elijah Holt, Lester Holt, Abraham Roseboom, Alvin 
Stewart, Levi Beardsley, Jonathan Hall. Peter Mag- 
her, William Campbell, John Forester, George Clyde, 
Edwin Judd and Jabez D. Hammond. Some of 
these men were prominent in Masonic circles, nota- 
blv John Forester, by whom most of early Lodges in 
this section of the State were instituted. 

The first district school, of which we have any 
knowledge, was erected at the head of the lane west 
of the present Methodist Parsonage, early in the 



HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. 65 

present Century. The expense of running the school, 
including the pay of the teacher, was divided per 
caj)ita between the scholars, except that the trustees 
were authorized to exempt poor pupils from the pay- 
ment of tuition and charge same against the other 
scholars. No public money was received by the 
village school until after it was re-organized as a 
Lancaster School in 1818. The School district was 
re-organized and reduced in size in 1815. The num- 
ber of the district was also changed from 3 to 13. 
John R. Whitaker, Horace Ripley and Jonathan 
Rudd were elected Trustees of the new district. — 
The number of scholars in attendance in that year 
(1815) was 121. One teacher was employed. At 
that time a teacher was compelled to pass an ex- 
amination before the Town Inspector of Schools, be- 
fore being permitted to teach. In 1818, the electors 
of the district voted to purchase a new site and erect 
a School house thereon at a cost of $1200. The build- 
ing erected at that time is still occuj)ied by the vil- 
lage school. The first Trustees of the Lancaster 
School were Joseph Clyde, Peter Magher and Oliver 
Judd. 

That the village, early in the Century, had begun 
to assume a metropolitan air is shown by the fact 
that in 1802 a village pound was erected for the con- 
finement of stray horses and cattle. In 1810 a new 
pound was erected and ordinances were passed mak- 
ing the owner of any gelding, mare or colt, running 
loose, subject to a fine of fifty cents a head, one half 



66 HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. 

of said fine to be paid to the person driving said 
animals to the pound, the remainder to accrue to the 
village. A similar fine was charged for neat cattle 
running loose. Owners of stallions, running loose, 
were charged the large fine of twelve dollars and 
fifty cents. Swine, rams and geese, were seized and 
sold for the benefit of the town. 

For many years all the monies belonging to the 
town or village, were loaned out, to such of the 
inhabitants as could furnish good sureties, at the 
prevailing rate of interest. 

The war of 1812 attracted very little attention in 
Cherry Valley and aroused no enthusiasm. In fact 
it was generally looked upon as a political matter; 
the republicans favoring and the federalists opposing 
it. The main fact of interest connected with it, so far 
as this town is concerned, was the drawing of lots in 
the village square. All the drafted men in 
this section were gathered together in the square and 
drew lots from a hat. Those drawing blanks 
were dismissed; the others were enlisted. Wm. 
Paddock, whom older residents will remember better 
as "Old Billy Paddock," was then a boy of sixteen; 
too young to be drafted, but not too young to serve. 
It was a common custom for drafted men to pay 
some one to "stand their chance" at the "drawing." 
Young Paddock received ten dollars apiece from 
seven men for "standing their chance," and in each 
case drew a blank. Finally he received thirty dol- 
lars to serve in the stead of someone less fortunate 



vV 



HISTORY or CHERRY VALLEY. 67 

in the military lottery and went to the war, serving 
through it with credit. The hundred dollars which 
he received on the day of the drawing, made him the 
envy of all his companions, and, as he often said in 
later life, "the richest boy in the village." Poor 
fellow! he was far from being the "richest man*' in 
the village, having been supported for a number of 
years previous to his death, in the seventies, by the 
Masonic Order. 

The others who served in the war of 1812, and 
have died within the recollection of the older gen- 
erations, were Asa Glazier, Aaron VanDyke, John 
Dutcher, James McKellip, Samuel Davy, John 
Boyce, Silas Hill, Wm. Graig and James Boyle. 

In 1715 Cherry Valley, for the second time, in- 
directly exercised a deciding influence on the politics 
of the State. Although only a coincidence, which 
X^ might have happened to any town, it is a matter of 
local interest that this town should have twice turned 
the political scales of the State. The present case 
is one of general interest as showing how small a 
matter may sometimes change the politics of a great 
State. The election of 1815 was hotly contested by 
both parties and the result was exceedingly close. — 
There were five members of Assembly elected from 
this county; all being republicans, with the exception 
of Dr. Wm. Campbell, of Cherry Valley, whose ability 
and personal popularity caused him to run ahead of 
his ticket. He was elected by one vote. By a 
singular coincidence his vote gave the Federalists 



/ 



68 HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. 

the control of the Legislature, also by one vote, and 
the consequent control of the State, through the 
Council of Appointment. 



HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. 69 



CHAPTER XIII. 

\VITCHCRAFT. SLAVES. EARLY CUSTOMS, SPORTS, ETC. 

It will doubtless surprise many people to learn 
that, early in the Century, witchcraft was quite gen- 
erally believed in among the country people in this 
section. The various ailments which efPecfpd a 
farmer's cattle were usually laid at the door of some 
old woman, who was accused of being a witch. — 
Beardsley in his "Reminiscences" says: "Within 
seven miles of Cherry Valley is a valuable farm from 
which two acres of the best land was carved out, and 
conveyed, to settle a claim, for having charged a 
woman with witchcraft, and that by her witcheries 
she had destroyed his property. She still holds the 
property, (1852) under this witch consideration for 
the title, having refused to sell it back although the 
original owner has offered a high price for it. In 
the same neighborhood lived a man who was a sev- 
enth son, and has been sent for hundreds of times, 
to charm away, or take ofip the witch spell from those 
effected." 

Slaves were common in this section prior to 1825, 
especially household servants. Male negroes gen> 



I 



w«" loM at tW <«d ol a sto^jvl 

pedvvL ,^ >*ii««tlA^? tJt-^oa iv.^ wwk woc^ ^I)k 

K>rtt csf slaw ptit^?at!? im ocvVer to eauti^ tin? oit^m- oI" 

T^ e«rlY tv>va r^vccb ««?«iIiiubi « 

.:,■;• - i -l^mt^ Ss^M«L im a liiuiKef- of s«c^ 

:tt^ asctfts? v^ Bty aBe^ctv> ^«vascau sis* Via^ * s^t^ &>r SJfe. — 
T^ vflej*. isi iji ae^ie *Ji»Jt s> c*II%!*t Rett- 

**V>t. ^af t£^ «ibiix- of SVp»H&J»«r. I>i^ vs^ >«CK ui afex- 

lii^st ' - " 'atai«? ^Bfc?s <jr «' i J l fe«-^i»lignftqf $«v«k 3«iKS;» 

asv 111' ^1 n Tjniiirirti T>iV fr> initiii ri -' ti r ' 

-;;::$ of lnwq; liQ»dB^ mi^wMiwit ^ k>$ 

- fKC«c tfti» l^ar. 



'I'lx! aljovo <;«;rtifi<;at<; iH giv<!ii on tin; (iXim;M« ft<<n<Utiou that 
iln! uhovf )jiijji<'<l h]uv<! )k! niiinuriiiftf;/! t<i-iiir;rrow. 

Hcx;'<l and iit-A-oKii'd .inn. r,iU, IH\H. 

JOHKl'U Ji. WaI/ION, I'r^WII (Jlwk. 

Sal(!H of hIuvck wchj n('V<;r coriunoii in (JlK^rry Val- 
ley, They were UHually brou^lit hy I'amilicH nioviu^ 
here from o1h<r Hectioiw ttn<J were looked upon an a 
|iart of tlie lir>iiB(!hold. SaIeK W(;re occanionally fnadc 
liowev(;r, and an late an 1H18 we find the. puhlislierH 
of tlie Cherry Valley Gazktti-: ofierin^f "a j^r^fxl 
healthy ne^ro ^irl of 18'', for Hah-. 

LawHuitH wen.' an unending source <A' entertain- 
ment in the country dlHtricfK. It Ih [>erha[/H un- 
neceBBary to state tliat "the dignity of the law" waH 
v<*ry generally ignored at them. For the convenient^' 
of the neighl^orhood the sesHionH of the "Court" were 
h<'ld in th(? ev<aiing. Before the trial opened it wais 
eonBiden'd inicumbent upon each of the contegtants 
to "treat" the crowd. After the trial commenced tlje 
clietitB used their own judgement as to the amount 
of treating they should do; but as public opinion 
was likely to swing in favor of the party who was 
most lil>eral in supplying litjuids, few had occasion 
to go dry. A jug of whiskey usually stood on the 
tabh; for the especial benefit of the Justice and the 
lawyers. Trials generally lasted until well into the 
night, by whicli tinn; the Court, Jury and si>ectat<^jrs 
wen; usually in a condition to take little interest in 
the proceedings. Blackguardism was a strong 
v/eapon with many of the "pettifoggers" and alwa3'>i 



72 HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. 

delighted the spectators. Beardsley, who was after- 
wards President of the State Senate, relates his ex- 
perience with one of the pettifoggers, who was 
accustomed to win his cases by browbeating the 
opposing lawyer. Being prepared for the occasion, 
at the first attempt of his opponent to cast ridicule 
upon him, Beardsley, reaching across the table, seized 
the bully by the collar, pulled him over the table 
and, giving his nose a tweak, threatened him with 
dire punishment, if he made any further disparaging 
remarks. This summary proceeding completely 
quelled the pettifogger and took from him his only 
weapon of offense and defense, so that Beardsley 
easily won his case. In the larger villages, however, 
considerable dignity was maintained in the Justices'' 
Courts and the Justices themselves were usually men 
of excellent judgement and some legal ability. 

Some of the customs, of the early days, would 
seem more than jDassing strange in this age. It was 
then common to see even married women of quite 
well-to-do families, trudging along barefoot, carrying 
their shoes in their hands to avoid getting them 
soiled. Children always went barefoot except to 
church. Carriages were rarely seen, women as well 
as men traveling on horseback. It was no un- 
common thing for a young man to take his girl on 
horseback with him, she riding behind, to a dance 
or ball — frequent amusements in those days. Fourth 
of July Balls were the great social event of the year. 
Dancing was begun before dinner and continued 



HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. 73 

until daybreak the following morning, cakes and 
wine being passed around, so as not to interfere with 
the dancing. Fiddlers were scarce and in great de- 
mand. Brayton Allen, of Cherry Valley, was the 
most celebrated fiddler in this part of the country 
and went great distances to furnish music at dances. 

Drinking was freely indulged in. When a party 
of men met, instead of each drinking from a seperate 
glass, a large bowl was mixed, from which each of the 
party drank in turn; the last man drinking calling 
for another. The carousals which were indulged in, 
by men of the highest standing, would shock a 
country community in these days. 

Quoit pitching and wrestling were the most 
common sports indulged in by men. Every Tavern 
had its quoit grounds, and around them were nearly 
always congregated a crowd of players and spectators. 
A crowd changing with every arrival or departure of 
the almost endless string of stages, freight and emi- 
grant wagons. Constant practice made many of the 
drivers and teamsters remarkably expert, and wagers 
over games were frequent. Some became semi- 
professionals and matches were made between them 
for large sums — sometimes as high as two or three 
hundred dollars. All classes engaged in the sport. 

Wrestling was mainly confined to teamsters, hos- 
tlers and the rougher and lower classes, though the 
better part of the community freely viewed the con- 
tests, and made wagers on the results. A man named 
Slocum, who made Cherry Valley his headquarters 



74 HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. 

the greater part of the time, claimed to be the 
champion wrestler of the state. He engaged only 
in contests for money. Several thousand dollars 
were sometimes wagered on him. 

Foot races were common among the boys and 
young men, of all classes. The famous runners, of 
Cherry Valley, in the 'twenties, were Joseph White 
and John K. Diell. The latter will be remembered 
by residents of this town twenty-five years ago, as an 
active old man of over eighty. He was the fastest 
runner in this part of the country, but being a 
trainer and semi-professional, he was barred out of 
most of the races, Sims, in his "Frontiersmen,'' 
gives the following account of a foot-race, in which 
much interest was taken in Cherry Valley. 

"The most important foot-race that ever took place 
in the Mohawk Valley, occurred at Canajoharie in 
August, 1824, between Joseph White of Cherry 
Valley and David Spraker of Palatine. They were 
both young men from the best families in the com- 
munity and had just graduated from Union College. 
The stakes were $1,000, and the course ten rods. — 
The race was won by Spraker by three feet. Had 
they run twice as far it was conceded that White 
would have been the winner. Spraker was trained 
by John K. Diell, then a school teacher in Sharon." 

Hunting was a favorite pastime. The woods were 
full of small game, and deer were numerous up to 
the beginning of the second quarter of the Century. 
Bears, which had been numerous in the earlier days. 



HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. 75 

had been either all killed or driven to seek more 
wild retreats. Beardsley speaks of having himself 
shot the last bear killed in this town. Evidently 
about 1818, although he does not give the exact date. 
As early as 1804 a Hunting Club was organized. 
The Club met once a year,— usually the day before 
Christmas. The day was spent in hunting, and at 
night the sportsmen met at Walton's, or Story's, 
tavern and counted their spoils. The member hav- 
ing scored the greatest number of points was award- 
ed a prize. The remainder of the night, and usually 
the greater part of Christmas day, was spent in cele- 
brating the success of the "Hunt." All of the men 
who were prominent in the history of the town at 
this time were either active or honorary members of 
this Club. The honorary members engaged only in 
the festivities. The Club, in later years, was called 
"The Fox-hunters Club," and a record was kept, by 
each member, of the game shot by himself during 

the year. 

Trout were the only fish in the brooks. According 
to tradition they grew to enormous size and were too 
plenty to be considered a very great delicacy. Many 
of the prominent men of the State were accustomed 
to make visits, of various length, at Cherry Valley to 
enjoy the hunting, fishing and hospitalities of the 
place— and incidently to discuss politics with Judges 
Hammond, Morse, Levi Beardsley and Alvan Stewart, 
then among the political leaders of the state. 

Horse races were held twice a year, near the old 



76 HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. 

Lewis place, on the road to Ft. Plain and Canajoharie, 
The Maple Sugar season was not only a time of 
money making but of pleasure as well. Nearly all the 
sugar consumed in the country up to 1825 was home- 
made, and a large amount was also sent to Albany 
and New York. Col. Samuel Campbell was the 
largest sugar maker in this part of the country in 
the earlier years of the Century, employing from ten 
to fifteen men regularly during the sap season. His 
"bush" extended from the upper end of the village 
to the present Moore farm, a distance of over a mile. 
Most of the boiling down was done in the open air, 
although some of the larger "bushes" had sugar huts, 
as much for the pleasure of sugar parties as for the 
convenience of the boilers. Pleasure parties were 
frequently formed, by the men of the village, and 
sometimes several days were spent by them in the 
sugar bushes; provision and drinkables, especially 
the latter, being taken with them. The days were 
spent in hunting and sleeping and the nights in drink- 
ing and story-telling. A species of forerunner of the 
modern "camping-out" custom. 



HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. 77 



CHAPTER XIV. 

INCORPORATION OF THE VILLAGE. EARLY GOVERN- 
MENT, ORDINANCES, ETC. 

On the 8th of June, 1812, an Act was passed by 
the Legislature regularly incorporating the village 
of Cherry Valley and on September 4th, of the same 
year, the first village election was held. William 
Campbell, Oliver Judd, Peter Magher, Jabez D. 
Hammond and Jonathan Hall were elected the first 
Trustees of the village. At a subsequent meeting of 
the Board of Trustees, Peter Magher was elected 
President and Levi Beardsley, Clerk. Jonathan 
Rudd was appointed Treasurer; Levi Beardsley, At- 
torney, and Horace Ripley, Overseer of Highways, 
Two of the trustees were appointed Fire Wardens, 
and were instructed to examine all fire-places, chim- 
neys and stove pipe, in the village, with power to 
condemn same if defective. Resolutions were also 
passed requiring "each owner, or occupant, of a store, 
house, or shop, to keep at least two fire buckets, 
marked with the name of the owner, in a conspicu- 
ous place." At the second Annual Meeting of the 
Village, held on the 11th day of May, 1813, it was 



78 HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. 

voted to raise One Hundred dollars for the purpose 
of repairing the roads and walks, and One Hundred 
dollars for the purpose of "Organizing a Fire Com- 
pany." The following year a further sum of One 
Hundred and Fifty dollars was voted for the express 
purpose of purchasing a Fire Engine. Fire hooks 
and ladders were also ordered to be purchased. It 
was also "Resolved, that the Treasurer be directed 
to loan the money now in his hands, at the lawful 
interest, on good securities, until called for by the 
Trustees of said Village."" 

In November, 1814, the suj)ply of silver and copper 
coins had become so scarce that Bills or Notes were 
issued by the Village to the amount of $500. These 
Bills were in denominations of let, 3cts, Gets, 12|cts 
and 25 cents, and were payable in current Bank Bills, 
at the office of the President of the village. A 
month later Bills of twenty-five and fifty cents were 
issued to the amount of One Thousand dollars. — 
Several business men also issued small Bills at this 
time. Two years later the Trustees passed a Res- 
olution prohibiting the issuing of small Bills, 

In August, 1818, the first regular Fire Company 
was organized. It was composed of 20 members, — 
George Farley was Captain; Illustrious Remington, 
Engineer, and Chester Judd Secretary, 

Among the early ordinances was one making any 
person, or persons, "encouraging dog- fighting in the 
streets," punishable by a fine of not less than $5. — 
Another prohibited the blowing of horns or beating 



HISTORY or CHERRY VALLEY. 79 

of drums in the street, without a permit from the 
Trustees. Anyone leaving wood or boxes on the side- 
walk was liable to a fine of one dollar. 

The following facts are given for their local inter- 
est: Church street was opened in 1816. The several 
streets in the village were named in 1818. There 
has been no change in the names since. A street 
was opened, in 1821, between Main and Lancaster 
streets. It was called "Rock Street." It is now 
known as "Wall street." Hay Scales were erected by 
the Village in 1818. They stood in front of the 
Bank. In 1820 the first Reservoir was built. It 
was "in the center of the village," wherever that may 
have been. We are told that it was directly back of 
the Hay Scales. It is somewhat singular that, in 
1820, Levi Beardsley was appointed Overseer of 
Highways- He was even at that time a man of 
prominence and wealth. Two attributes we do not 
now expect Village Highway Commissioners to 

possess. 

The advance that the Village has made m the past 

eighty years is shown by the fact that the average 
expense of running the village from 1815 to 1825 
was a little less than $100 a year. It is now some- 
what over $2000 a year, although the village is a 
trifle smaller than it was then, (in population), and 
its business interests are vastly inferior in im- 
portance and numbers. At every village election, 
for many years, an attempt was made to increase the 
usual appropriation of $100 but it was invariably 
voted down. 



so HISTORY OF CHERKY VAl.l.KY. 

Tlu^ moi^t roiiiarkablo fact, oounootoil with tho vil- 
lage govonuuout, was tho oharaotor of tho moii who 
held village otiioos duriiiLr tho tii-st thirty years of 
its legal oxistanoo. Thus at one time wo tiiul Dr. 
Wm. Oamplvll. LL. D., Jalvz D. llammoiul, LL. 
D., both, afterwanls, members of tho Hoard of 
Kogonts. ami Levi Beardsloy, afterwards. President 
of the State Senate, among tho ViUage Trustees. It 
is safe to say no village in the oountry over hail a 
trio of equal ability on its Board of Trustees. And 
this Board ean seareely be eallod an oxeeption to the 
rule. Noivrly every Boarti contained men of ex- 
ceptional ability and of extended reputation. 



/ 



HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. 81 



CHAPTER XV. 

FROM 1815 TO 1825. 
In 1815 Cherry Valley had reached its j^reatest 
relative imi)ortance. It continued to grow in wealth 
and size, but its growth, in the latter respect especial- 
ly, was slow and it was soon left far behind by the 
now rapidly growing villages of Syracuse, Roches- 
ter, Buffalo, and many others. The great ability and 
rejjutation of many of its citizens continued to give 
it, for many years, a prominence far greater than 
that of many places greatly exceeding it in popula- 
tion. The rapid growth of the country to the west 
also added to the business and wealth of the ijlace, 
as the greater part of the travel, to and from that 
section, passed through it. How great this traffic 
was, is shown by the fact that, at this time, there 
were 62 Taverns between Albany and Cherry Val- 
Valley,— a distance of 52 miles. That this place 
must have benefitted enormously from, and been a 
great centre for, this trade, is clearly indicated by 
the fact that there were fifteen Taverns and ten re- 
tail liquor stores in the town. In addition to these 
there were four distilleries— on the present Thomas 



82 HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. 

Wikoff farm, at Flint's, on East Hill and at Salt 
Springville, — and one brewery; the latter being also 
on the Wikoff farm. There were eight blacksmith 
shops, giving employment to from four to eight 
men each, and at one time 110 stage horses were 
kept in the village. In addition to the through stage 
lines from Albany and the New England States to 
Syracuse, Rochester, Buffalo and the West, local 
stage lines connected Cherry Valley with Albany, 
Schenectady, Catskill, Canajoharie, Burlington, 
Monticello, the Worcester towns, Cooperstown and 
Utica. Stages were usually drawn by six horses, 
though eight, and even ten, horses were used at times. 
Regular freight transportation lines were also run 
between Albany and Buffalo. Huge wagons capable 
of drawing from three to four tons, drawn by seven 
horses, were used on these lines. They moved slow- 
ly, the journey from Albany to Buffalo often taking 
two weeks. These wagons had tires six inches wide 
and were allowed to pass through the numerous toll- 
gates free of charge, owing to the fact that their wide 
tires were of great benefit to the roads by filling in 
the ruts made by ordinary wagons. This enormous 
traffic caused a great demand for horses and the price 
of those animals, which had been from twenty-five 
to thirty dollars, in 1800, had risen to from seventy- 
five to one hundred and fifty dollars by 1820. Much 
above the price which ordinary horses now command 
in this section. It is said that the first horse in this 
part of the country which sold for an equivalent of 



HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. 83 

over a hundred dollars, was an unusually fine one 
belonging to John Wilson. He sold it, about 1809, 
to Thomas Shankland of Cooperstown; receiving in 
return twenty thousand feet of pine lumber. A 
great "bee" was held and the lumber was drawn from 
Shankland's mill, below Cooperstown, in one day. 

In 1818 the Central Bank was chartered and 
began operations on Tuesday, Oct, 8. It was, we 
believe, the first Bank in the State west of Albany, 
with the exception of one started the year previous, 
at Schenectady, and was for twenty years the most 
povverful financial institution in Central New York. 
It was frequently asserted that its great influence 
was used to prevent the chartering of other country 
Banks by the Legislature. The idea of a country 
Bank controlling the Legislature, in this age, would 
seem little short of ridiculous. But the fact that 
Beardsley, who was, at the same, time, President of 
the Bank, and President of the State Senate, 
takes pains, in his "Reminiscences," to explain his 
position on the subject of country Banks, leads to 
the inference that there may have been some foun- 
dation for the accusation; more especially as the 
Bank was represented in the Legislature for many 
years, and numbered among its Directors and Stock- 
holders some of the most powerful men in the State. 
The first President of the Bank was Dr. Joseph 
White; the Cashier being Abraham M. Schemerhorn. 
The latter afterwards moved to Rochester and was 
for many years the leading financier of Western New 



84 HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. 

York, The Directors were: Joseph White, David 
Little, Elias Bramm, Jabez D. Hammond, Barnabas 
Eldredge, Levi Beardsley, James O. Morse, William 
Campbell, Delos White, Peter Magher, William 
Beekraan, Henry Brown and Isaac Seelye. Several 
of these men were residents of neighboring towns. ^ — 
In 1819 nearly all of the country Banks in the State 
failed, or temporarily suspended; the Central, how- 
ever, weathered the financial storm without trouble, 
although the Directors deemed it advisable to per- 
sonally guarantee the redemption of its notes. The 
Bank since its organization has had but six Presi- 
dents, viz: Dr. Joseph White, Dr. David Little, 
Senator Levi Beardsley, Senator David H. Little, 
Horatio J. Olcott and Wm. H. Baldwin. 

The same year (1818) the Cherry Valley Gazette 
was started by L. and B. Todd. Two papers had 
previously been established here — the Otsego Re- 
publican, in 1812, and the Watchtower, in 1813. — 
The latter was removed to Cooperstown in 1814. — 
How long the former was published we have no 
means of knowing. With the exception of a short 
break in the later sixties, the Gazette has been pub- 
lished down to the present time. 

On Monday, Dec. 7, 1818, a lime kiln, belonging 
to David Hamilton, gave way and instantly killed 
his son, John Hamilton, aged 14 years. This was 
the first fatal accident known to have occurred in the 
town. 

There were at this time four companies of infantry 



HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. 85 

in Cherry Valley, composing the greater part of the 
112th Regiment, which had its head-quarters here. 
There were also three companies of artillery. Of the 
higher officers in the Militia, Levi Beardsley was 
Judge x4.dvocate and Delos White, Hospital Surgeon 
of the 16th Division of Infantry; Abraham M. 
Schemerhorn was Paymaster of the 2nd Brigade and 
Major Lester Holt was Inspector. In this year 
(1818) there were 4000 Militia in Otsego county, 
divided into seven Regiments. The head-quarters 
of the several Regiments were as follows: The 112th 
at Story's Tavern in Cherry Valley; 7th at Todd's, in 
Worcester; 2nd at Munn's, in Cooperstown; 60th at 
Craft's, in Laurens; 125th at Danielson's in Butter- 
nuts; 54th at Sheldon's, in Burlington; IBSth at 
Loomis', in Richfield. In this year of our Lord. 
1898, one lonely company, of less than 100 men, con- 
stitutes the Militray force of Otsego county. 

The population of the county was about the same 
as now. The country, outside of the villages, was 
much more thickly settled than it now is. The in- 
crease in the prices of farm products, in the eighteen 
years since the Century opened, was remarkable, and 
it is somewhat singular that prices for them were 
practically the same as at the pres3nt time. Butter 
was worth 18cts a pound and cheese lOcts. Cows 
said for from $25 to $35; and farm horses were worth 
about $60. The estimated amount of woolen and 
linen cloth made in families was 456,156 yards. Now 
nor.e is made. The shipment of pine lumber was 



5* MlSi'lXXKV OF VMKKKY YAtUKV. 

s^iVH^^ Bv^th nn^ now uwvxxrtiiHi in lar>^* quautiti^^a. 

lu 18Ui th<!^ "Riv^heUvfs Club" whsj fonutxl. It 
w«s ori^iuallv start*;Hl as a ilolv\tiu>: ivviotv, but 
^^rmiJwaUv t«.K4 ou a un-vr^^ svx^ial fvxrm ami tiuaWv b^s 
came tho ltv*Uii\>r s^x'ial orv;au\»ativM\ in this s^ootioii. 
Its \v*i*tit>* wt^rt'' att^nuUxl bv tho youu^^; ixx^plo of tho 
n*i»i^hKyriiv,^ towus» wh*.^*** !?»,XMal jxxsitiow was ooi\- 
sidt^rt\l sutRouMitlv hi>rh to outitlo theiu to i\H\>^ui^ 
tion. ami \wry\ what wvmxKI now Iv tormtxi vory 
'"^wi^H" affairs. Th»e» Clwb eontiuutxl in ^xistwux* 
aKnit t<tn\ v^^ars. It was cx^mix^stxl lari^>lY of law 
ami mtxlicaJ stmlents, of whom thoiv wor*^ mauv in 
tht» v>t8ot\!4 «.>f tht> famous lawyv^rs ami dootoars th<?n 
tt»side«t hoiv, and of the oKh^r studonts it\ tho 
Ai'fttlt'my. 

In this Yv^r uumervnis mtvtit\^ wort* hoUl» thrv^o^h- 
out the cvuntry. to prv^tt\:it a^ijaiust tho oxtrava^auiV 
in tho mi*iiagxni\out of puWio atfair^ osixvially iu 
tho j^aymoMt v>f hi>rh salaries to o^v^ials, A anvtiiv^j 
was hold at tho "Bank Ootf^v Houst\" on July 31, 
ISUK at whioh Altml Crafts prt^idtxl. and Alvan 
Stowart aetoil as Sov^rotary. Tho following Com- 
mitttx^ was ap^xnutoil to draw up and oiroulato a 
jx^titioit tv» tho Uo^^islaturt^ domanvliu^ a r^xluotiou 
in tho oxponso® of tho State gv^Yornmout, via: Peter 
Ma^^her. Jamtvii S. CampWU. TX^W White, -THmt^s 
Braokott, iMiver Judd. Levi B<>arvisloy. Jauuv O. 
Mv>r^\ In that year the total amount raised (or 
taxes of all kinds.— villa^^, school, tv>wn, «.vnnty and 



HIHTOFiV OF fHKI'Jty VAJ.MCV. H7 

Htatf'., in tJi«M/jwn of ClKtrry Vull«-y, MJm;;) inolurJ- 
ir»K K'>H<'l>oojn) wan $1217.:'>H. Al/out $)7,<>f>:) fi y'-nr 
JH now miK<Ml \>y tux, in tliin town, although it hiin 
<\f('Mn<'A in w-filth, Ki/>;, popul.'itioji nii'l imjKjrbin':-, 

Hinr;«- inr.j. 

In 1S2:> an ;tt,t<;rnpt WHH mafic, to form a now coun- 
ty, of which Ch'-,rry Valh-y was to \)(; th«- "county 
Hi-'id," t/. h<^ couiyxmi'A of tli'f townn of Cl^^rry V^ilh-y, 
S[jrini<fi<5hl, MirJ«ih;fi«'Ul, WiiHtford, Dwcatur, Mary- 
l;tn(] an'l \Vnn:>;HU:r, in OtH-ij^o county; the t/^wn of 
Sliarojj in Scholiaric county, an«J Cunajoliaric an<J 
Mindcn, in Mont^'onn-ry county. The ill feeling 
v/hich h»d «-xiHt<-'J \»dw>:<-ti fjlicrry Valhiy and Ooop- 
crHt<jwn, Hincc tfic frirrnalion of OtH'-.j^o couniy, wm 
the indirect cauw; of tJx. at.t..;nipt to form a new 
county. Then* WHK a Ktron;< H^'Jitirncnt in favor of 
the project in rnoHt of the townh, hut the man in 
()}jerry VaMey who had the greatiiHt influence refuned 
h, tak«5 an a'-tiv«' part in tfie matter, doubth-HH from 
l>oiitical motivcH, and th^- Lr-j^inh-iture dech'ne'l to 
erexjt the new county. 

It wfiH cuHtomary, after the rrhtahlihfjnient of a 
newHpaper here, to puhh'nh a lint of tfje lettefK lyinj< 
uncalled for in the Cherry Valley ix>8t-office,--a8 ift 
W)W done in nia/iy of the lari<«-r town and citieH.- 
Tln-. lihtH puhliHhed by J. 11 Walton, P. M., in IH18, 
and Oliver Judd, P. M., in 1824, j,nve the name« of 
frr^m a hundred to a hu/idn-d and thirty yK-rmuH, for 
whom letterH were lyiriK "n/icalh-d for." Showing/ 
that thiH office muHt have been of conKideraV>l.- im- 



88 HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. 

portance, and that it must have furnished postal 
facilities for a large territory. 

Every business carried on in Cherry Valley in 
1898, was represented here in 1820; including Mar- 
ble Works, Cabinet Shop, Iron Foundry, Bookstore, 
Drug Store, Millinery Shop, Dentists, etc. Estab- 
lishments we should not expect to have found in any 
but the very largest places, at that time. Among 
the industries, not here now, were Tanneries, Dis- 
tilleries, Hat Factories, Last Factories, Truss Works, 
a Brass Foundry, etc. Some of these were small 
affairs. 

On the 12tli of September, 1824, died Col. Samuel 
Campbell, the last survivor of the original settlers 
of Cherry Valley, at the age of eighty-six years and 
four months. Few men have ever passed through a 
more eventful life than Col. Campbell. Coming, as 
a child, to this, then, wilderness, he had seen it 
grow into the most prominent and flourishing set- 
tlement west of Schenectady; only to be completely 
destroyed by the indian and tory hordes. Return- 
ing to the valley, once more a wilderness, he had 
watched it grow into the most important and influen- 
tial village west of the Hudson. As a youth he had 
numbered among his playmates the wild and unciv- 
ilized Indian youth, and as a man among his friends 
Washington, the Clintons, and most of the great 
men of the i)ost-Revolutionary period. He may be 
said, literally, to have lived in Colonial, Revolution- 
ary and modern times, and to have been a companion 



HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. 89 

and associate of representatives of the wildest and 
most bloodthirsty races of red men that have peo- 
pled America, and of the most cultured generations of 
Anglo-Americans, — for whatever may have been the 
advance in the various branches of learning, and 
the improvement in the arts and sciences, no later 
generation has equalled the higher classes of the 
post-Revolutionary period in true culture and refine- 
ment. 

In the same year (May 31, 1824,) died Mrs. Cath- 
erine Clyde, widow of Col. Samuel Clyde, whose es- 
cape, with seven small children, at the time of the 
Massacre, is recorded in a previous chapter. The 
early records show her to have been a very superior 
woman — a true type of the American woman of the 
Revolution, 



90 HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

THE MEN WHO MADE CHERRY VALLEY FAMOUS. 

The opening of the Erie Canal, in 1825, was a 
serious blow to Cherry Valley. Prior to this the 
great bulk of the travel and traffic from the New 
England States to the west, passed through Cherry 
Valley and paid heavy tribute to it as one of the 
leading commercial centers on the route. The great- 
er part of this trade was henceforth lost to it, although 
emigrant trains continued, for some years after, to 
roll through the village, on their way to the great 
west. The growth of the country, south of the 
canal, helped, in a measure, to offset the loss caused 
by the diversion of the general traffic to the Valley of 
the Mohawk, but the almost continuous line of stage 
coaches, which contributed the most liberally to the 
business of the place, no longer passed through its 
portals, and the literally unending caravan of horses, 
wagons, sheep and cattle, dwindled into a broken 
succession of teams and droves. 

It was at this time, however, the home of many 
men of great ability, and extended reputation, 
and these gave it, for many years, a reputation great- 



HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. 91 

er than any other place in the State, outside of the 
larger cities. Especially was this true of its lawyers. 
Among these were Jabez D. Hammond, Alvin Stew- 
art, James O. Morse, James Brackett, Levi Beards- 
ley and Isaac Seelye. The history of this country, 
and probably of the whole world, presents no other 
case in which a village of less than a thousand peo- 
ple has possessed, at one time, so great an array of 
legal talent, in active and successful practice. How 
extensive the practice of these men must have been, 
is shown from the fact that, coming here as poor 
young men in the early part of the Century, (Seelye 
1797, the others from 1802 to 1810), they had, in a 
country where money was scarce, all, with the ex- 
ception of Brackett whose jovial habits prevented, 
become wealthy men by 1825. At this time these 
five were considered among the rich men in Central 
New York. 

Jabez D. Hammond, LL. D., was at various times 
State Senator and a Member of the Council of Ap- 
pointment, Congressman, a Member of the Board of 
Regents, Commissioner for the State in the settle- 
ment of claims against the National Government and 
fcr the laying out of State Roads. He also held 
many minor offices such as Member of Assembly, 
County Judge and County Superintendent of Schools. 
His "Political History of the State of New York," 
was one of the famous books of his day and gave 
him considerable literary prominence, both at home 
and abroad, which was increased by his "Life and 



92 HISTORY OF CHEREY VALLEY. 

Times of Silas Wright." Both works showing- 
marked literary ability, much research and an inti- 
mate knowledge of, and acquaintance with, public 
men. Beardsley says of him: "As a Member of Con- 
gress and State Senator, and in short in all his 
official relations, which have been many, he has ac- 
quitted himself with distinguished tact and ability. 
Few men in the State have been more shrewd and 
adroit politicians than Judge Hammond. His sug- 
gestions, in reference to public policy, and his 
influences have frequently extended to remote parts 
of the state, though the mover was not publicly 
visible, as the suggestor. Devoted to Gov. Clinton 
and one of his principal advisors for many years, he 
probably contributed as much as any one in the state, 
in sustaining the fortune and ascendancy of that 
truly great man." 

Alvan Stewart, became one of the most celebrated 
and widely known of this sextette, and was said to 
be one of the most efPective men before a jury, the 
State has ever known. His drolleries and satires of 
wit were irresistable and always carried a jury. — 
Lincoln was an exact prototype in manner and wit 
but he lacked Stewart's culture and education. It 
was characteristic of him that when he came to 
Cherry Valley, not having a penny in his pocket, he 
made a bargain with the stage driver to amuse him 
with stories enough to pay for the ride, He com. 
menced life by teaching in the Academy, at the same 
time studying law. He accumulated a very hand- 



HISTORY or CHEREY VALLEY. -'^^ 

some fortune in his profession. As a politician he 
was a failure; always managing to enlist on the 
weaker and unsuccessful side. He was a candidate 
for Governor in 1842 and again in 1844 

James O. Morse was the most scholarly of this line 
of great lawyers. His tastes were literary and he 
was a frequent contributor to the leading periodicals 
of the day. Through his pen he exerted a wide in- 
fluence on the politics of the state. His acquaint- 
ance with the leading men of the country was very 
large, and he entertained many of them at his 
hospitable mansion in this village. He was Presi 
dent of the Central Deaf and Dumb Asylum and held 
the office of County Judge, then a position o consid- 
erable importance. (Prior to the revision of the Judi- 
cial Department by the Constitutiona Convention 
of 1846). He was a wealthy man and contiibuted 
very liberally to the support of Colleges, Academies, 
and religious and charitable institutions^ Beardsley 
says of him: '"In many respects he had few superiors 
7the state- and in speaking of his death adds, "few 
men have died in Otsego County, whose death wa. a 
greater calamity to the community, than that ot 

James O. Morse." . 

Isaac Seelye was the superior of any of his com- 
peers in legal knowledge and it is questionable 
whether he had an equal, during his lifetime m 
Central New York, in this respect. He .^s often 
spoken of as the -'country law library He early 
Iniassed a handsome fortune, from his extensne 



94 HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. 

practice, and during his later years mainly confined 
himself to office business. The Otsego County 
History says of him: "He was one of the ablest and 
most forcible exponents of the law the county has 
ever had." 

James Brackett, was a graduate of Dartmouth 
College, a brilliant scholar, a learned lawyer, and, 
perhaps unfortunately for himself, a very jovial 
gentlemen. His love of sports and pleasure led him 
to avoid the worries and frets of politics, and the 
only political office held by him was that of Surro- 
gate of Otsego county. His ability was, however, so 
marked that he has passed down to posterity a re- 
putation as great as that of his more prominent 
compeers. He died possessed of a comfortable com- 
petence. 

Levi Beardsley, LL. D., was not only a distinguish- 
ed lawyer, a politician of National importance and a 
prominent and able financier, but he was also pos- 
sessed of considerable literary ability; his "Reminis- 
cinces" being one of the most ably written books of 
its kind. He was State Senator from 1830 to 1838, 
and was President of the Senate during the latter 
part of that period. He was also a Member of Assem- 
bly, President of the Central Bank, then the leading 
financial institution of Central New York, President 
of the Oswego Bank, and a State Director of the 
Farmers' Loan and Insurance Company, of New 
York, — the largest financial concern in the State, 
having a capital stock of $2,000,000. His large for- 



w 



HISTORY OF CHEERY VALLEY. 95 

tune was swept away in the panic of 1887. 

The other lawyers in active practice in Cherry 
Valley at this time were Geo. Clyde and Horace 
Lathroj) — both men of very respectable ability. — 
The former was County Clerk of Otsego County 
1834-7, and later Judge of Columbia County, and 
also a delegate to the Constitutional Convention of 
1846, from that county. Lathrop was County Clerk 
■ from 1881 to 1884. 

The members of the Medical profession, though 
fewer in number, were no less prominent than the 
legal fraternity. Of these the most distinguished 
was Doct. Joseph White, who was not only the lead- 
ing surgeon of the State, but whose general practice 
covered a greater extent of territory than that of any 
other reputable physician in the State, before or 
since. He was President of Fairfield Medical Col- 
lege, President of the New York State Medical So- 
ciety, and the first President of the Otsego County 
Medical Society. Nor was it in Medicine alone that 
he was prominent, but in social, political and busi- 
ness life as well. Although he had no legal train- 
ing, he was, for 28 years, First Judge of Otsego 
County. He was also, for several years, State Sen- 
ator and a member of the powerful Council of Ap- 
pointment. He was the first President of the 
Central Bank and, indeed, was prominent in all the 
leading affairs of Central and Western New York. — 
His vigorous and versatile intellect seemed to fit him 
for every position to which he was called. All in all, 



96 HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. 

lie was unquestionably one of the greatest men the 
State has produced. Beardsley, whom we quote 
frequently, as the best authority, says, in speaking of 
him: "As an operator in Surgery he was highly 
distinguished, and for many years justly regarded as 
standing at the head of his profession. * * * In his 
Ijolitics he was a high-toned federalist, and exercised 
much authority and influence with his party, to 
which, from his position and standing in society, he 
was justly entitled." Hammond's Political History 
states that Dr. White's influence was so great with 
the Council of Appointment, that he was able to 
secure the appointment of Major Daniel Hall, of 
Albany, to the vacant office of Secretary of State, 
despite the strong opposition of Gov. Jay. (1799). 
The following extract from the Biography of Dr. 
Joseph White in "Williams' Memoirs of Eminent 
Physicians," (1840), is interesting as showing the 
great change that has taken place in the habits and 
means of conveyance of doctors, since the early part 
of the Century: "He filled a large space in his pro- 
fession and his calls and rides extended from Albany 
to Buffalo, about three hundred and fifty miles. — 
His mode of traveling was on horseback. Few men 
could endure so great a measure of fatigue from this 
method of traveling. He at one time rode from Al- 
bany to his place of residence in Cherry Valley, 
fifty-three miles, without stopping. At another 
time he rede from Buffalo to Batavia, forty miles, 
bafore taking his breakfast." 



HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. 97 

Dr. Delos White, although his life was cut short 
before he had reached the age when men usually 
attain their greatest prominence, enjoyed a reputa- 
tion for ability, in surgery especially, little inferior 
to that of his famous parent. Beardsley says of him: 
"Dr. Delos White, had for several years before the 
death of his father, acquired a reputation in his pro- 
fession of nearly equal celebrity. He too had been 
at the head of one of the departments (anatomy) in 
the medical college, already mentioned, and on the 
decease of his senior was looked upon as almost the 
only man who could fill the place of his deceased but 
distinguished ancestor, whom he survived but a few 
years, having died in 1835." An old Ledger, of 
Delos White's, shows an extent of practice both as 
regards territory and remuneration, which would 
seem almost incredeble to a country practioner in 
these days. 

Dr. Menzo White, whose active practice began 
prior to 1830 and extended into the present half of 
the Century, enjoyed a reputation with the medical 
fraternity, of Central New York, nearly equal to that 
of his distinguished father. His practice extended 
over a radius of a hundred miles and was only con- 
fined by his inability to attend to his calls from be- 
yond these limits. He always had from six to ten 
medical students in his office; young men who had 
graduated from colleges or other institutions and 
came to him to take a post-graduate course. Prac- 
ticing physicians from all parts ot Central New York 



08 HISTORY OP CHEUllY VALLEY. 

came to watch him perform surgical oijoratioiis. It 
was no iiiicotniuou sight to see him start out to pc^-- 
t'orni an operation, at some distant point, accompan- 
ied by six or eight stmUnits and as many doc- 
tors — all on horseback. His office days wore always 
known in the village by the coni^ourse of people 
that gathered to consult him. 

Dr. Wm. Campbell, LL. D., a very barned man 
in many branches of science and literature, although 
enjoying a very respectable practice, was more 
celebrated as a Civil Engineer and Surveyor than as 
a physician. He surveyed several of the State Roads, 
including the Second Great Western Turnpike, of 
which he was for many years one of the Directors. 
It was through his influence that this road came 
through Cherry Valley. He was Surveyor-General 
(now State Engineer and Surveyor) of the State; a 
member of the Board of Regents; a life Trustee of 
Union College, and held various minor offices. 

Among the most prominent men, during this 
period and for many years after, was Jacob Living- 
ston, a member of the distinguished family of that 
name, who had married the daughter of Dr. Joseph 
White and settled here about 1830, whore he spent 
the remainder of his life; keeping up a very hand- 
some establishment and living in a style previously 
unknown in tlu^ town. He was a man of ability and, 
though taking no active part, by reason of his posi- 
tion exerted a very considerable influence on the 
IJolitics of this section. He was a National Elector 



HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. 99 

in 1840. The history of this branch of the White 
family is sufficiently remarkable to be worthy of 
mention, presenting as it does one of the very rare 
instances— in this country where one generation 
usually suffices to destroy the the reputation and 
wealth acquired by the preceeding generation— of 
the female line, by successive marriages, not only 
keeping intact the wealth, and preserving the pres- 
tigvi of a prominent family, but even greatly augment- 
ing them. In 1793, Dr. Joseph White, already one 
of the wealthiest men and a prominent social leader 
in Central (then Western) New York, purchased the 
handsome property now owned by his grand-daughter. 
At his death it descended to his daughter, Mrs. Jacol) 
Livingston, and then to the latter's daughter, Mrs. 
A. B. Cox; the family having, during the interven- 
ing hundred and five years, continued the social 
leaders of this section. It is now accounted one of 
the wealthy families of the state, and is connected 
by descent and marriage, with many of the oldest 
and most prominent families in America. 

Abraham Roseboom, a member of a family prom- 
inent in mercantile circles in Fort Orange (later Al- 
bany) for 150 years previous, moved to Cherry Val- 
ley and settled, in 1806, on the farm now owned by 
A. H. Roseboom. He was a wealthy man and his 
property was largely increased by early investments 
in the Mohawk & Schenectady and the Utica & 
Schenectady railroads, and, after their consolidation, 
in the New York Central. He was an influential 



100 HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. 

man in the town. It is an interesting fact that the 
farm, now owned by his grand-son, was a part of the 
original Patent granted, in 1688, to Jacob Roseboom 
and others. 

Joseph Clyde, son of Col. Samuel Clyde of Revo- 
lutionary fame, was prominent in political affairs 
and occupied an excellent social position. He was 
a Member of the Constitutional Convention of 1821, 
and a Member of Assembly in 1828. 

The Rev. Eli F. Oooley, LL. D., during this time, 
pastor of the Presbyterian Church, was a man of dis- 
tinguished ability and scholarship, and added, by his 
reputation for scholarly attainments, to the fame of 
the place. (1810-20.) 

Rev. John Truir followed the Rev. Dr. Cooley as 
pastor of the Presbyterian Church. The History of 
the Presbyterian Church speaks of him as "an edu- 
cated man. talented and full of vim; of excessive 
activity, of great and persuasive powers as a speaker, 
and so successful in bringing souls to Christ as to 
merit comparison with preachers of the type of Mr. 
Moody." 

The Academy enjoyed great prosperity during 
the early half of the Century, and added greatly 
to the fame of Cherry Valley. Its Principals were, 
of necessity, men of classical education, and several 
of them were men of great learning. Of these the 
most noted was Cogswell, a man of rare men- 
tal attainments, who was the Principal between 
1825 and 1835. 



HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. 101 

Among the famous merchants of the very early 
X>art of the Century were CuUen & Livingston and 
the Kanes — well-known names in New York com- 
mercial circles. Gen. Watson Webb, who died re- 
cently at the advanced age of 90 years, was a clerk 
in the store of the former firm. The Kanes were 
West India merchants and their intention was to 
make Cherry Valley a distributing point for all the 
country west. The location of these famous firms 
in Cherry Valley was due to the attempt, very early 
in the Century, to make the city of Hudson the port 
of entry for foreign goods, instead of New York. — 
Among the locally noted merchants, who started 
in business here previous to 1818, were A. W. <fe H, 
Flint, Peter Magher, F. & P. May, and a little later 
Alfred Crafts and Robert Dunlap. The stores run 
by these men were to a great section of territory, es- 
pecially to the west, what the huge Department 
Stores of New York are to the state to-day. 

In the mechanical arts were several men whose 
exceptional skill gave them as great a reputation in 
this line as was enjoyed by any of the professional 
men. Notably among these was Edward Prescott, a 
famous clock-maker of his day, whose clocks, made 
entirely by hand and largely of wood, are still to be 
found in various parts of the country. They are 
much prized and when sold command high prices. 
Prescott mainly made clock "works", which were 
sold to New York clock-makers and by them encased. 
Harry Smith was noted as a skilled Silversmith. He 



102 HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. 

was also a Truss Manufacturer on quite a large scale 
for those days. He bought the first Steam Engine 
ever seen in this town, for use in his Foundry, which 
stood back of the present Pearson Block. A silver 
truss made by Mr. Smith for the Marshs', of New 
York, for exhibition at the Crystal Palace Celebra- 
tion, is said to have been the finest piece of work- 
manship shown at that exhibition. John K. Forester, 
came to this country originally to build the mantles, 
fire-places and other marble work in "Hyde Hall", 
in Springfield; at the time it was built the most sjjlen- 
did and costly mansion in the country, and on the 
interior of which only the most skilled workmen 
were employed. Forester settled in Cherry Valley 
and built up a very extensive marble business. The 
marble was dug out of the knoll back of the present 
John Skinnion house and when polished made a very 
handsome stone. It was known throughout the 
State as "Cherry Valley marble." He had a shed, 
for polishing the marble, near the present home of 
Mrs. Barns, and another shed on the Norman Water- 
house place in which he trimmed hearthstones, etc., 
which were quarried on the same place. He also 
had a mill in Livingston's Glen for sawing stone and 
marble. He employed quite a number of excellent 
workman and himself had the reputation of being 
the finest workman in the country. Amasa Belknap 
was for many years a famous gunsmith. His rifles 
were much sought after in all parts of the country 
and especially on the western frontier. He filled an 



HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. 103 

order, from Texas, for 1,500 rifles — then considered 
a very large order — just previous to the Mexican 
war. 

Among the other institutions, which early con - 
tributed to tlie prominence of Cherry Valley, were 
Holts' Tannery, (started prior to 1800) a very exten- 
sive concern for those days; North & Rudd's Brass 
Foundry and Judd's Iron Foundry. The latter was 
established by Oliver Judd, a very ingenious and 
inventive Yankee, who came here from Connecticut, 
in 1805, as a Blacksmith. He soon after started a 
Foundry in the village, which was later moved to 
Tekaharawa Falls, (now commonly called Judd's 
Falls), on account of the water power. It was still 
later removed again to the village and the Foundry 
now owned and operated by John Judd was built. — 
The Judds' were among the earliest manufacturers 
of cast-iron plows, in the state, and their implements 
gained a wide-spread reputation. Much of the vir- 
gin soil of Western New York and Ohio was over- 
turned with them. 

The North & Rudd Brass Foundry was located on 
the site now occupied by the Presbyterian Church 
and occupied half a dozen one story buildings. A 
large business was done in the manufacture of buck- 
les, harness trimmings, saddle-irons, bells and various 
brass articles. A number of wagons were kept on 
the road, selling these goods, in this State and 
Canada. 

In the house, which, up to about twenty-five years 



104 HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY, 

ago, when it was torn down, stood east of the Bank, 
were born in the early Century, two men, James 
Lathrop and John May, who afterwards, by a singu- 
lar coincidence, became famous circus Clowns. — 
Both traveled extensively abroad and gained a great 
reputation both in England and on the Continent. 



HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. 105 



CHAPTER XVII. 

1825 TO 1835. 

The decade beginning with 1826, presents little of 
interest, except as regards religious matters. 

In 1828, the Methodist Episcopal Church was or- 
ganized, by the Rev. Ephraim Hall, with 16 charter 
members. Services were held in the Lancaster 
school-house until 1835, when a Church building 
was erected. The Church, in its existence of seventy 
years, has had thirty-four ministers. Of these the 
most noted was John P. Newman, now a Methodist 
Bishop. Following is a list of the ministers who 
have been stationed here, since the organization of 
the Church: Ephraim Hall, James Kelsey, Isaac 
Grant, Calvin Hawley, Lyman Sperry, Joseph Baker, 
Leonard Bowdish, Lewis Anderson, Lyman A. Eddy, 
H. Ereanbach, Rosman Ingalls, C. Harvey, William 
Southworth, George Parsons, Barlow Gorham, John 
M. Searles, John P. Newman, Moses L. Kern, L. D. 
Pendell, H. S. Richardson, John T. Crippen, Joseph 
Shank, John W. Mitchell, R. W. Peebles, George 
W. Foster, J. B. Sherar, Gordon Moore, Wesley F. 
Tooke, M. G. Wadsworth, Lemuel B. Grey, Geo. H. 



106 HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY, 

VanVliet, S. W. Brown, H. B. Fritts, A. G, Mark- 
ham. 

In 1827-8 the frame Presbyterian Church erected 
by the returning survivors of the Massacre was torn 
down and to quote Swinnerton's History of the Pres- 
byterian church, "a new building reared its hand- 
some steeple to a height of a hundred feet. It was 
in the classic style. In front was a portico with four 
elegant Tuscan Pillars, above which rose the steeple, 
story on story, to the summit, which was adorned 
with a tinned ball and vane, the latter being the 
same that surmonts the present spire." 

From 1822 to 1829, services were held in Cherry 
Valley, at stated intervals, by the Rev. Frederick T. 
Tiffany, the Episcopal clergyman stationed at 
Cooperstown. Whether the Episcopalians had a 
regularly organized society here during this time is 
not known; though in view of the fact that several 
of the Vestry of the original church were still alive 
it would seem probable that such was the case; 
more especially as we fi^id the Rev. Timothy Miner 
stationed here in 1838 as the Rector of Trinity church 
— the name of the original corporation. This matter 
is interesting to Episcopalians as deciding the ques- 
tion whether an Episcopalian organization has 
legally existed since 1803, or only since the forma- 
tion of the present corporation in 1846. 

The Protestant Methodists established a church 
here soon after 1830 and erected a church building 
in 1835. The church never had a large regular 



HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. 107 

membership, though it was a popular place of wor- 
ship, with the younger classes, on Sunday evenings. 
The church had an existence of only a few years. — 
The minister was the Rev. John L. Ambler, a circuit 
rider of this denomination. The former church 
edifice was used as a barrack during the early part 
of the civil war and is now a Cooper Shop. 

The only murders which have ever occurred in 
this town both took place in the year 1826. Neither 
was premeditated. The first murder was on the 
Western Turnpike about two miles from the village, 
on the present Blumenstock farm. Philo Thompson, 
a lad of about 16, in an altercation with his employer, 
Samuel Campbell, struck the latter with a hoe, kill- 
ing him instantly. Thompson was sentenced to 
State Prison for seven years. A little later David 
Darby, employed in the blacksmith shop of Smith 
B. Reynold's, in the upper part of the village, also 
killed his employer in a quarrel. Darby was sen- 
tenced to be hung, but the sentence was commuted, 
and he was finally discharged, after a brief imprison- 
ment. Both murders were looked upon as, in a 
measure, unintentional, and much sympathy was ex- 
pressed tor all the parties. 

In 1827, the locally famous "Cherry Valley Volun- 
teers" were organized, with Jonathan Hall as Cap- 
tain. The early militia companies were often un- 
uniformed, and little regard was paid to size and ap- 
pearance. The "Volunteers," or Capt. Hall's Cora- 
pany as it was called, were, however, very carefully 



108 HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. 

selected and dressed in grey coats, trimmed with 
bufip, generously besprinkled with silver buttons^ 
white pants and high black hats, trimmed with silver 
braid, with tall white plumes, having red tops, pre- 
sented a very handsome appearance, and were the 
center of attraction at all military and Fourth of 
July celebrations in this section. The organization 
was kept up for many years. The original officers, 
—Jonathan Hall, captain; Edwin Judd, 1st lieuten- 
ant, and Charles McLean, 2nd lieutenant, — continued 
to hold their several positions until in the fifties, 
when Edwin Judd was advanced to the captaincy. 

Sometime during the thirties the Cherry Valley 
Agricultural Society was organized and for a num- 
ber of years Annual Fairs were held on the Academy 
lot on the corner of Church and Montgomery streets. 
The records have all been lost and we can learn 
nothing regarding the officers of the association ex- 
cept the bare fact that Levi Beardsley was president 
of it in 1838. 

A very unique arrangement existed with reference 
to the postmastership during the thirties and forties. 
William Mc Lean was a pronounced Whig in ]3oli- 
tics, while his son, Charles, was an equally strong 
democrat. When the Whigs were in power the eld- 
er McLean was postmaster. When the democrats 
were victorious the office was turned over to the 
younger McLean. The public suffered little incon- 
venience from the change in the administration, 
since the post-office always remained in the same 



HISTORY OF CHEERY VALLEY. 109 

j)lace and the business of the office continued to he 
attended to by the two McLeans, jointly. 

In 1835 a Charter was obtained "for the building of 
a railroad from a point on the Utica and Schenecta- 
dy railroad, near Canajoharie, to Cherry Valley; 
thence along the Cherry Valley creek and the 
Susquehanna river to a junction with the Erie'\ 
The difficulties in the way of grade were so great 
that the project was abandoned. 

This period was one of great financial prosperity 
for the village, which continued, up to the panic of 
'37. to be one of the wealthiest places in the State, 
In an earlier chapter it was stated that, although, in 
1800, it was accounted the wealthiest place west of 
Albany, it was doubtful if it contained a person 
worth over ten thousand dollars. The great increase 
in wealth, in the intervening thirty years, is shown 
by the fact that, in 1830, there were a dozen men in 
Cherry Valley worth upwards of fifty thousand dol- 
lars, — a great fortune in those days. It is, of course, 
impossible to determine the exact size of the for- 
tunes of the wealthiest men but the following will give 
some idea: Dr. White at his death, in 1832, left an 
estate valued at $100,000; Abraham Eoseboom, ac- 
counted the wealthiest man in the town, was worth 
somewhat in excess of that amount; Dr. David Lit- 
tle, (lived in Springfield), president of the Central 
Bank, and whose financial interests were in Cherry 
Valley, was worth over $200,000; Levi Beardsley, in 
1833, after he had lost a portion of his property. 



110 HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY, 

valued his estate at $60,000; Alvin Stewart, Isaac 
Seeley, Jabez Hammond, James O. Morse and Delos 
White were worth about the same as Beardsley, as 
was also Joseph Phelon, who came here in 1832; and 
Jacob Livingston was worth considerably more. — 
Howard Flint, Peter Magher, Robert Dunlap and 
Alfred Crafts were wealthy merchants, but their for- 
tunes fell far short of $50,000., with the possible 
exception of Flint's. The panic of 1837 played sad 
havoc with the wealth of nearly all of these men. — 
Beardsley, Morse and Stewart lost heavily in western 
lands, as in fact did nearly everyone, who had money 
to invest, to a greater or less degree. (People now 
speculate in Wall Street; then they speculated in 
"western lands''). The mercantile panic nearly 
ruined Magher, Dunlap and Crafts, and Flint went 
west and lost his fortune speculating in "pork." 

At this time skilled mechanics were paid from 
seventy-five cents to a dollar a day and the wages of 
common laborers was fifty cents. There are yet liv- 
ing in the town several men who, as boys of from 
fourteen to eighteen, were accustomed to drive cattle 
to Albany and Catskill. They were paid twenty-five 
cents a day while going and paid their own way back 
— of course walking both ways. The cost of living 
in 1835 — at least for the necessaries of life — was ful- 
ly as much as now. Loaf sugar cost 16c a pound 
and common sugar lie; Hyson tea was 54c; ordi- 
nary tea 42c; raisins 12^c; currants 18c; molasses 
50; rice 6c; starch 12c; lemons 3c; nails 9c; peas 75e 



HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. Ill 

a bushel; oats 40c; eggs 10c; powder 30c a pound; 
shot 10c; thread was 9c a spool; calico 30c a yard; 
sheeting 19c; ordinary cambric 12c; muslin 66c; 
shirting 25c; blue jean 25c; gingham 30c; lamp oil, 
$1.25; whisky was 40c a gallon; Malaga wine 75c; 
rum 50c; sweet wine 60c; gin $1.00. Of course there 
were diflPerent qualities of many of these articles but 
these were the average prices. 



112 HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 
1835 TO 1850. 

The opening of the New York Central railroad, in 
1836, may be said to have put an end to Cherry Val- 
ley's through trade and to have commercially isolated 
it. The great rivers of travel had changed their 
course, and Cherry Valley was left forsaken, on the 
banks of the now useless "Great Turnpikes," while 
the traffic, which once surged over them, now passed 
through the lowlands below, by way of the great 
canal or still greater railroad. 

The great panic of 1837 was, too, a severe blow to 
the place. Immediately following the loss of trade, 
from the causes mentioned, its effect was doubly 
severe. It lasted, so far as this town was concerned, 
until ISll, and during that time every prominent 
merchant either failed or went out of business. 

The history of Cherry Valley, during the decade 
beginning with 1838, is perha^js the most remarkable 
in its existence. Certainly no other village, of a 
thousand people, has ever played so important a i^art 
in the politics of a great State. 



HISTORY or CHERRY VALLEY. 113 

During this time Cherry Valley furnished to the 
State, two Members of the Board of Regents, (Dr. 
Wm. Campbell, LL. D., and Jab^z D. Hammond, 
LL. D.); a President of the State Senate, (Levi 
Beardsley); a Surveyor-General, (Wm. Campbell); 
a Canal Commissioner, (Geo. W. Little) ; two 
Members of Congress, (Jeremiah E. Cary, and Wm. 
W. Campbell,); a State Senator, (David H. Little); 
a National Elector, (Jacob Livingston): a Justice of 
the Superior Court, (Wm. W. Campbell, LL. D.) ; 
and a member of the Court for the Correction of 
Errors, ( Levi Beardsley ) . It also had two life Trus- 
tees of' Union College,— then the most famous edu- 
cational institution in the country, outside of New 
England,— and it was represented on the Boards of 
many large institutions and corporations. 

Its influence in county politics was very great, as 
is indicated by the fact that at one time (1848) it 
furnished three of the seven county officers— Charles 
McLean, County Clerk; Dewitt C.Bates, District 
Attorney; Jonas Platner, Sheriff,— and a member 
of Assembly, (Benjamin Davis). The important 
part it took in county matters is further shown by 
the fact that, upon the reorganization of the County 
Agricultural Society, in 1841, the President, Sec 
retary and Treasurer were all chosen from Cherry 

Valley. 
Its activity in local matters was fully as great as 

in county and state affairs. There were here at this 
time three companies of infantry— commanded re- 



114 HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. 

spectively by Capt. Wm. C. Willson, Capt. Harmon 
Howland and Capt. Jonathan Hall — and three com- 
panies of artillery (strictly one company of 3 guns.) 
commanded by Capt. Sutphen. There were also two 
Fire Companies, a Brass Band and several other or- 
ganizations. 

During this time Cherry Valley acquired consider- 
able literary importance by the publication of Ham- 
mond's "Political History," and "Times of Silas 
Wright"; Beardsley's "Reminiscences", and Camp- 
bell's "Annals of Tryon County" and "Life of 
Judith Grant,"— all of which attracted attention in 
the literary world, — as well as by the activity of 
several other of its residents in literary affairs. 

The industries, giving employment to a number of 
men, included Watt's Tannery, which stood on the 
site of the stone building opposite the grounds of 
the Episcopal church; Judd's Iron Foundry; Luke 
Brewer's Furniture Factory — below the corner of 
Main and Genesee streets; Harry Smith's Truss 
works, and Benj. Davis' Hat-making establish oient. 
Several wagon, tailor and shoe shops also gave em- 
ployment to quite a number of men. 

At this time the Academy, of which J. Washington 
Taylor was principal and Miss Caroline F. King 
preceptress, was enjoying a period of great prosperity. 
Connected with it was a Musical Department under 
the charge of Jonathan Fowler, a music teacher of 
reputation, which attracted hither many students of 
music. The large number of old and wealthy 



HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. 115 

families also gave the place great social prominence. 
Indeed the whole history of Cherry Valley during 
this period shows a prominence and activity that 
would be deemed incredible in a village of a thou- 
sand inhabitants, did not the official records testify 
to its truth. 

In 1888 President Martin VanBuren visited Cher- 
ry Valley. He was entertained while here by Jacob 
Livingston, Esq., (a strong Whig and an elector on 
the Harrison ticket in 1840). A public reception 
was tendered him at Wilkin^s (formerly Story's) 
tavern in the afternoon, and a private reception was 
given in his honor by Mrs. Levi Beardsley, in the 
evening. 

The one hundredth anniversary of the settlement 
of Cherry Valley was celebrated on the Fourth of 
July, 1840. The event called together an enormous 
crowd— estimated at 25,000— including many dis- 
tinguished men. The speakers were the Rev. Dr. 
Eliphalet Nott, president of Union College, Wm. 
H. Seward, the Governor of the State, and the Hon. 
W. W. Campbell. The latter was one of the men 
who, both by their ability and prominence, added to 
the fame of Cherry Valley. He was at various times 
Circuit Judge, Judge of the Supreme Court and 
Member of Congress; a life Trustee of Union Col- 
lege, and author of "Annals of Tryon County", 
'"Life of Judith Grant", and several other works, as 
well as many magazine articles and pamphlets. He 
had also a very considerable reputation as a speaker. 



116 HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. 

The greatest political celebration ever held in this 
or adjoining counties, was in the famous "Log Cabin 
and Hard CideT Campaign" when Harrison and 
Tyler were the Whig candidates. Several days be- 
fore the celebration a log cabin was erected on the 
site of the present Francis house, next to C. B. Plat- 
ner's. The cabin was built in a single day, all the 
Whigs in the town who could find room to drive a 
nail aiding in its erection. The day after it was com- 
pleted several of the leading Whigs decided that 
they would whitewash the interior. Accordingly 
armed with whitewash pails and brushes they took 
possession of the cabin. Fortunately, or unfortu- 
nately, — for this is one of the cases in which opinions 
might honestly differ, — a cider barrel or two was con- 
sidered a necessary part of the furnishings of a log 
cabin, and the builders of this particular cabin had 
finished their labors by "rolling in" several barrels 
of cider. The result may be easily imagined. After 
a day spent in the cabin the company towards even- 
ing appeared, themselves decorated from head to feet 
wdth whitewash, and with unsteady steps, but with 
happiness depicted on their faces as the result of a 
good deed well done, sought their several homes. — 
It is illustrative of the times that this proceeding, 
which would now be considered "disgraceful," at- 
tracted no special attention and was not looked upon 
as anything especially out of the way. Among the 
X^arty were Judge Hammond, Judge Brackett, Coun- 
selor H. J. Campbell and several other of the first 



HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. HT 

men in the village. The only special comment on 
the subject was that of a radical democrat who ex- 
pressed the opinion that "it almost made him wish he 
was a Whig." Which doubtless expressed the opin- 
ion of a good many other prominent democrats. 

The celebration itself was held in Ripley's Grove, 
(now the Bates' farm). Connected with it was the 
inevitable "Ox Roast." The sticks sustaining the 
Ox had burned off during the roasting process the 
preceding night, allowing the animal to drop into 
the huge dripping pan and thence into the fire,^ so 
that portions of the outer part were more thoroughly 
cocked than absolutely necessary, but with the as- 
sistance of the hard cider, which stocd in barrels all 
over the lot— free to all— this was easily over- 
looked. A novel sight was a large number of small 
log cabins, some used for refreshment booths and 
others merely for show; the latter gaily decorated 
and having, as their occupants, girls, women and 
men, in various costumes, representing early settlers, 
Indians, etc. Some of the smaller of these were built 
by farmers on wagons, or ox carts, and drawn to the 
grounds. Seth Pope, who lived on the hill back of 
the Roseboom place, narrowly escaped a fatal acci- 
dent by the tipping over of a log cabin he was 
l)ringing down the hill on his ox cart. Fortunately 
the bevy of girls; dressed in white, who were to oc- 
cupy it, were walking and escaped injury, as did also, 
by singular good fortune, the driver. 

In 1844 another very large political celebration 



118 HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. 

was held in Campbell's grove, at which the "Speech"' 
was delivered by Horace Greeley. In connection 
with this was also an "Ox roast" — apparently a nec- 
essary concomitant of all the early celebrations. 

Cherry Valley was itself too full of life to pay 
much attention to the Mexican war and there were 
few volunteers from here. Several reached the 
recruiting station at New York but the only ones 
who took an active part in the war were Lieut. 
Edward Gilbert, who was later the first Representa- 
tive in Congress, from the new State of California, 
and Capt. John Brackett, who served for many years 
in the regular army. 

The present Episcopal Society was incorporated 
on April IH, 1846, under the name of Grace Church. 
— The first rector was the Rev. Joseph Ransom. — 
The vestry was composed of the following: James 
W. Brackett and Henry Roseboom, Wardens; — 
Benjamin Davis, George W. White, Charles Mc 
Lean. B. B. Provost, David L. White, Joseph Calder. 
Amos L. Swan and Wm. Owen, Vestrymen. Of the 
charter members of the society Mrs. Henry Rose- 
boom, Mrs. A. B. Cox and Mrs. Brayton A. Camp- 
bell alone survive. 'Of the vestry not one is now 
living. The following is a list of the Episcopalian 
ministers and rectors who have held services here: 

Russell. 1787 to 1798; David Nash, 1798 to 

180B; Timothy Miner, 1838 to 1811; Joseph Ran- 
som, 1845 to 1850; J. Leander Townsend, 1850 to 



HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. 119 

1852; John Dowdney, 1852 to 1853; George H. 
Nichols, 1854 to 1865; Flavel S. Mines, 1865 to 
1867; David L. Schwartz, 1867 to 1872; Henry H. 
Oberly, 1873 to 1874, J. H. De Mille, 1874 to 1876; 
Reeve Hobbie, 1876 to 1884; J. E. Hall, 1885 to the 
present time. 

About the year 1847, John W. Fowler established 
a Law School here, which was very successful, for 
some year^, and attracted hither a number of young 
men of ability who, later in life, attained prominence. 
Fowler gave his chief attention to oratory and many 
of the public speakers and campaign orators who 
became noted in the west — for that section attracted 
most of the youth of that time — received their train- 
ing at the "Cherry Valley Law School." 

About 1849 Amos L. Swan began the manufacture 
of Melodeons, and, two years later, O. H. Eldredge 
engaged in the manufacture of Cabinet Organs, on 
quite an extensive scale. The former's business was 
broken up by the civil war. The Eldredge Factory 
was run until 1874 — during the later years by Alex, 
Fea & Sons, — when it was also abandoned. 



120 HISTORY OF CHEREY VALLEY. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

1850 TO 1870. 

The history of Cherry Valley, so far as its general 
influence and prominence is concerned, may be said 
to have ended with the close of the first half of the 
Century. Perhaps the most remarkable thing in its 
whole history is the suddenness with which it drop- 
ped from a place of leading importance into a 
commonplace country village. The town, which 
had, between 1838 and 1848, been the home of State 
officers, members of the Board of Regents, Senators, 
Judges and Congressmen has, during the fifty years 
since then, with the exception of one Congressman, 
(Oliver A. Morse 35th Congress), never had an 
official of any importance. Its decline in wealth 
and social importance was more gradual, and it con- 
tinued, for thirty years after the date mentioned, to 
hold an enviable position in the social world, by 
reason of the wealth and standing of many of its 
families. 

In 1854 Cherry Valley was further reduced, both 
in size and population, by the formation from it of 
the town of Roseboom. So named in honor of 



HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. 121 

Abraham Roseboom, one of its oldest and most prom- 
inent, as well as its wealthiest citizen. At this time 
Cherry Valley was the first town in the county in 
point of population. The villaoje itself was, however 
the second in the county, Cooperstown being first. — 
The village of Cherry Valley attained its greatest 
numerical size during the later fifties. It at one 
time contained over eleven hundred inhabitants. It 
was a far less prepossessing looking village than it 
now is, and contained many old rookeries and un- 
painted houses. But what is somewhat remarkable, 
it did not possess nearly as many buildings as to-day . 
Genesee street had only four or five houses; there 
were only a few houses on upper Main street; Upper 
Montgomery street and its lanes had not half the 
present number of houses, and Maple Avenue was 
unopened. It was however not unusual to find sev- 
eral families in a house and a dozen people in a 

family. 

In 1854 Lodge Rooms were built for the I. O. O. F. 
Society; which had been established here in 1817, 
by the addition of a third story to the building 
known as the "Bates Block." The Odd Fellows con- 
tinued to occupy these rooms until the building was 
destroyed by fire in 1894. In the same year (1854) 
an Encampment was organized in connection with 
the Lodge. No member of the original Lodge is 
now living and of the charter members of the En- 
campment, we believe only two— James Young, Esq., 
and Robert Wales. Both organizations are now in a 



122 HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY, 

flourishing condition. 

The following account of the part taken by Cher- 
ry Valley, in the late civil war, written by Rev. H. 
U. Swinnerton, Ph. D., in 1876, is so concise and 
complete that no later account can improve it. 

"A company was raised in April, 1861, immediately 
after Sumter, its quarters being in the school house 
near the cemetery, on the site of the old revolution- 
ary fort. It was offered at Albany, under the first 
call for 75,000 men, but the call having been filled it 
was not received. Its captain was Geo. S. Tucker- 
man, and its lieutenants, Egbert Olcott and Cleve- 
land J. Campbell. All or nearly all its members 
enlisted in other organizations. Some of them, with 
others from the village, making ten in all, enlisted 
as privates at Albany in the 44th ("Ellsworth Aven- 
gers,") which went out in the Fall. Among these 
Campbell rose from one grade to another in line and 
staff and in different corps, becoming a colonel, and 
brig. gen. by brevet. He died before the close of 
the war. Olcott passed to the 121st of which he 
long held command, after the promotion of Gen. 
Upton, and becoming a colonel; and William Crafts 
received a captain's commission on the day he died. 

For years preceding there had been a fine military 
company of which Amos L. Swan was captain, and 
in which the people of the village took great inter- 
est. It was attached to the old 39tli militia, of which 
Cherry Valley was the head-quarters. In Sei)tem- 
l>er 1861, on the call for three year's men. Gen. 



HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. 123 

Danforth, of the local militia brigade, was present 
Ht a parade of this company. On his asking how 
many from it would go, the order was given, for such 
as were willing, to advance from the ranks when 
nearly the whole company stepped forward. There 
was then no bounty, and the men did not even know 
the pay. The general at once decided that the en- 
listment of the 89th should be proceded with at Cher- 
ry Valley. Bates' hop-house was used for barracks, 
andtheoldM. P. Church as mess room.-Over six 
hundred men were recruited by the 1st of January 
1862 when they were suddenly ordered to Albany, 
andlhere summarily consolidated with the 76th N. 
Y. S. V. Two of the companies, however were put 
in the artillery under Col. Laidley. 

The 39th thus lost its identity, and the interest ot 

the people here, followed the 76th through its long 

career down to Appomattox; what was left ot it 

taking part there in the closing strokes of the war.— 

For it the flag was made. The officers from Cherry 

Valley were as follows: Capt. A. L. Swan, who was 

brevettedlieut, col., Lieut. Robert Story, (a most 

cjallant soldier,) who became Capt., and was killed 

at Gettysburg, Capt. John W. Young became a 

maior. James D. Clyde subsequently entered as 

Lieut, and became a captain. Of those who entered 

as privatesin it, Edwin J. Swanbecame a captain, and 

Barnard Phenis, a Lieut., (killed at Weldon, R. K) 

Samuel Ludlam and James George became serje^its, 

and Albert Gross several times declined the office. 



124 HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. 

as did Solomon Howe, though called by Col. Swan 
the "banner soldier" of the regiment. John Stevens 
was made color serg't at Gettysburg, and Irving 
Baker at South Mountain for bravery. 

In the Fall of 1861, after the defeat at Bull Kun, 
a troop of cavalry was formed under Lieut. Philip 
R. Wales (who became a Capt.) and received at iSi. 
Y., into the Ira Harris Cavalry, (afterwards 6th N. 
Y.) — John Ramsay became a first lieutenant in it, 
and James J. Fonda an ordinance serjeant. Morgan 
Lewis went out as a private and became a captain. — 
Also, that Fall, a squad of near a score for Berdan's 
Sharpshooters, raised by Geo. S.Tuckerman as Capt. 
and Lieut. Charles McLean, who was killed. Wm. 
McLean, his brother was a serjeant, and was also 
killed. In this corps John E. Hetherington after- 
wards became a captain, and Oliver J. Hetherington 
was a serjeant, William Story several times persis- 
tently refused a commission on account of a roman- 
tic friendship, for the sake of which he preferred 
the ranks. He and James Kraig, his alter ego were 
first in, and last out, of everything that was lively. — 
James Hetherington, the third brother of the two 
above, went in the volunteer navy, as did also William 
V. S. Bastian, John Nelson, and Thomas Brien. — 
Charles Nichols (son of the rector of Grace Church,) 
George Engle- and William Nelson lost their lives in 
the navy. The residence of Lieut. Com. George 
Ransom U. S. N. was here though now changed to 
Richfield. He commanded the cruiser. Grand Gulf, 



HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. 125 

was Post Capt. at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, and 
now ranks as Commander in one of the finest ves- 
sels of the Navy. In Avigust 1862. uijon the second 
call for three year's men, two companies were raised 
for the 121st, whose head quarters were at Herkimer. 
Egbert Olcott, as stated above, long held command. 
He received some remarkable commendations for the 
efficiency of his regiment, and his own merit as an 
officer. It was attached to the 6th Corps, and was 
engaged in all the battles of the army of the Potomac 
up to Winchester. Thence under Sheridan in his 
campaign to Richmond. It got the honorable nick- 
name of "Upton's regulars." Other officers from 
here were captains Edwin Clark and Douglas Camp- 
bell, the latter brevetted major, Lieut, and Adj't. 
Francis W. Morse who became captain on the staff, 
and major by brevet, and Lieuts. James D. Clyde 
and Wm. Tucker; Edward Wales and John Daniels 
both brave fellows, became Serjeants and were killed. 
The three Wallaces, Spencer, Benjamin, and John, 
sons of a clergyman, (the last of whom was killed.) 
were among the many privates, whose services were 
as valuable as those of many an officer. And John 
Skinnon, an old veteran of the British Army, was 
another of the same kind. When examined for en- 
listment the doctor pointed to a bullet scar in his 
chest, remarking "If that had gone an inch this way 
it would have killed you." 

"Begorra," said John, "and if it had gone the wan 
inch the other way, it wouldn't have hit me at all!" 



126 HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY, 

Besides these bodies of men, there went from the 
place numerous individuals in other organizations; 
inchiding the following: 

David Little, M. D. went oat as Assist. Surgeon 
of the 14th, New York, and became a Surgeon, with 
the rank of major. Egbert Olcott (a cousin of 
the before mentione:! of the same name,) became a 
lieut. in the Regular Army. Delos Olcott, his 
brother, became a Capt. in the volunteers. George 
Little became a Capt. in the 127th, Louis Campbell 
became a lieutenant in the 152d, Charles Fry was an 
Assist. Surgt-on in the 28th. 

Col. Olcott, Capt. Delos Olcott, Major Young, Capt. 
Ed. Swan, Capt. Clyde, and Lieuts. Casler of Spring- 
field and L. Campbell were all prisoners and were 
among the officers placed under fire at Charleston 
during the bombardment. Some were exchanged, 
but others endured unspeakable horrors in the 
prisons at Savannah, Macon and Columbia, gaining 
their liberty, with constitutions in some cases totally 
impaired, only at the end of the war. 

I feel that this list is very imjaerfectly made up, 
as almost every day adds a name or an item which 
ought to go in. My only fear, however, is that the 
reader a hundred years from now will not believe 
that out of the two or three thousand people in this 
t")wn so many could have been sent; that the officers 
alone so far as named should number so many as 
thirty-seven; — embracing eleven of the rank of cap- 
tain, ten of hidier u-rade seven lieutenants, and at 



HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. 127 

least nine subalterns; and that the dead whose late 
was ascertained should count uj) to forty-two." 

The taking away, by the war, of so many of the 
young men of the village, not only reduced its popu- 
lation, but also injuriously effected its business 
interests. It was the main cause leading to the 
closing of the Academy and it caused the per- 
manent abandonment of one, and the tempor- 
ary stoppage of the other, of the melodeon factories. 
In the midst of the dej)ression, brought about by 
the war, came the opening of the Albany & Susque- 
hanna railroad, which diverted from Cherry Valley 
the trade of the lower part of Otsego and adjoining 
counties. The greater portion of which had, up to 
this time, passed through it, on the way to Albany 
or the New York Central railroad. 

In the early part of June, 1866, the Tryon House, 
a locally noted hotel, was destroyed by fire, and a 
month later, (July 6), a still more disastrous fire 
swept away all the remaining business portion of 
Main street, on the north side, with the exception of 
of the Central Hotel and the building east of it. 

In 1867, the last "General Training" was held in 
Cherry Valley. Immediately afterwards the old 89tli 
Regiment, which had long had its head-quarters 
here, was disbanded. The Militia equipments were 
removed and the old Arsenal abandoned to the vil- 
lage youth and to the elements. The combined ef- 
forts, of these two destructive agents, soon made a 
wreck of the building, and a number of years ago it 



128 HISTORY OF CHEREY VALLEY. 

was torn down and burned. 

In 1868 a company was organized for the develop- 
ment of the "White Sulphur Spring," two miles 
north of the village. The existence of the spring 
had been known since the settlement of the place, 
and is said to have been much visited by the indians 
for many years previous. A commodious bath-house 
was erected and a very considerable amount of 
money was expended in laying out roads and de- 
veloping the property, but the enterprise, owing 
doubtless to its distance from any hotel, was never a 
success. A fact much to be regretted, for there is 
no question of the medicinal value of the water. A 
little later a phosphate spring, know to the indians, 
was re-discovered. The water was thoroughly ana- 
lyzed and found to be heavily impregnated with 
phosphates but, in developing, it became mixed with 
other water, and it was also j&nally abandoned. 

The building of the New York Central and the 
Albany & Susqaehanna railroads had so completely 
isolated Cherry Valley from the rest of the world 
that it was deemed almost essential for the existence 
of the place that it should have railroad commun- 
ication with the outside world, and, a charter having 
been acquired, the building of a road from Cherry 
Valley to a junction with the Albany & Susquehanna 
at Cobleskill was begun on Dec. 1, 1868, and on June 
15, 1870, the first train ran over the newly completed 
Cherry Valley, Sharon & Albany railroad. The fol- 
lowing day trains began running regularly. The 



HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. 129 

oflBcers of the road from this town were: Wm. W. 
Campbell president; H. J. Olcott, treasurer; A. B. 
Cox, Dewitt C. Bates and James Young, directors. 
Mr. Bates was also the superintendent of the road. 
The road was never a paying affair and after a few 
years it was sold to the Delaware & Hudson Canal 
Co., the present owners. The town was bonded for 
$150,000. to build the road, the bonds drawing seven 
per cent interest. The payment of which has been 
a heavy burden on the town for many years, but is 
now rapidly becoming less burdensome both by the 
reduction in the rate of interest and the payment of 
the greater part of the principal. 

In the year 1869, James S. Campbell, the last 
survivor of the Massacre, passed away, at the ad- 
vanced age of 97 years. He was a child of six years, 
when the tories and Indians descended upon the ill- 
fated settlement, and was, with the rest of the family, 
taken captive. He was carried to Canada and 
adopted into an indian family. More remarkable 
even than his great age or his connection with the 
revolutionary period, is the fact that he was a son of 
Col. Samuel Campbell, one of the original settlers of 
Cherry Valley. Probably no two generations in the 
same family ever covered a longer period in the his- 
tory of an American village. Certainly none ever 
witnessed greater changes nor passed through a 
more exciting epoch. 



130 HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. 



CHAPTER XX. 

1870 TO 1898. 

The history of Cherry Valley, since 1870, has been 
but a constant record of disasters and deaths; of 
devastating fires, of loss of population by removals, 
and of business through these and other causes. 
But of far more serious moment has baen the loss, by 
death, of the men who, by their intellect, position, 
or wealth, gave the town a character and standing 
unequalled among the smaller villages of the state. 
Among the men having an extended reputation for 
literary and scholarly attainments, living here in 
1870, and who have since died, were Judge Wm. W. 
Campbell, Hon. Oliver A. Morse and Prof. John L. 
Sawyer. The men of wealth and high social stand- 
ing included A. B. Cox, Henry Roseboom, Joseph 
Phelon, Horatio J. Olcott, G. W. B. Dakin, Horace 
Ripley and Samuel Campbell. Of these the first 
three were members of old and wealthy families pre- 
viously mentioned; types of the older generation of 
country gentlemen, now so nearly extinct. Mr. Ol- 
cott, a member of the family, of that name, long 
XDrominent in banking circles, was for over fifty years 



HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. 131 

connected with the Central Bank; a portion of that 
time as President. Mr. Dakin, a very gentlemanly 
man, of scholarly tastes, succeeded Mr. Olcott as 
president of the Bank. (His name was inadvertent- 
ly omitted from the list of the presidents in a pre- 
vious chapter). Mr. Ripley, a member of an old 
Cherry Valley family, was a retired city merchant. 
Samuel Campbell, Esq., for many years a prominent 
New York lawyer, having amassed a large fortune, 
had returned to his native village to spend the rest 
of his days. Of the lawyers Judge George C. Clyde, 
Dewitt C. Bates, Davis Bates and Wm. Burch, en- 
joyed more than a local reputation. The superior 
abilities of the latter were not fully appreciated by 
later generations. They did justice to his ability as 
a lawyer, but his broader scholarship and knowledge 
— so rare among country lawyers of the present gen- 
eration — were not appreciated at their full value. — 
Among the medical fraternity Joseph White and 
George Merritt held an excellent position; the lat- 
ter especially in surgery. In local and county affairs 
Charles McLean long occupied a leading place. — 
There were also a number of others, whose respect- 
able talents and standing entitled them to consider- 
ation. 

That these men did not do more to extend tHe 
reputation and improve the material prospects of the 
place, was due to the fact that many of them came 
here after the prime of life — having acquired prom- 
inence and wealth in other fields — and preferred a 



132 HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. 

life of retirement. They sought rather to keep it. 
as it then was, a quiet, cultivated, country village, 
than to make it an active, stirring, bustling town; as 
with the wealth and influence at their command 
they might easily have done. 

On June 21, 1871, fire again visited the place and 
destroyed the old two and a half story building stand- 
ing on the corner opposite the Tryon House lot. — 
Like most of the fires that have taken place in the 
village, this proved but a temporary disaster as a 
more modern three story block was soon erected on 
this site. 

In June 1872 the old Presbyterian church erected 
in 1827-8, was torn down, and on October 1st, 1878, 
the handsome stone edifice which now adds so much 
to the beauty of the village, and attracts the at- 
tention of all visitors, was dedicated. The church 
was erected by the munficience of Miss Catharine 
Roseboom and is a memorial both of her generosity 
and her interest in the cause of Christianity. The 
only outward show of an extended liberality and 
deep interest in religious matters, which she has 
evinced privately in many instances. 

The Historical Account of the Presbyterian church 
of Cherry Valley says: "It can probably be said of 
few churches in this country, that there have been 
erected for their use, so many as five suc- 
cessive houses of worship. The edifice we now 
occupy is the fifth building that has been raised 
and dedicated to the use of this congregation in the 



HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. IHIJ 

worship of God." Following is a list of the Pastors 
who have been stationed here since the organiza- 
tion of the Presbyterian Society: Samuel Dunlop, 
1741-78; Eliphalet Nott, 1796-98; Thos. K. Kirkham, 
1808-04; Geo. Hall, 1806-07; Jesse Townsand, 1810; 
Eli F. Cooley, 1810-20; John Truair, 1820-22; Char- 
les Jas. Cook, 1822; Charles Fitch, 1822-24; Evans 
Beardsley, 1825; Jas. B. Ambler, 1825-27; C. W. D. 
Tappan, 1828-29; Alex. M. Cowan, 1830-38; Wm. 
Lochead, 1834-38; Albert V. H. Powell, 1838-39; 
William Lusk, 1841-46; Geo. S. Boardman, 1847- 
49; John G. Hall, 1850-57; Jas. H. Dwight, 1857-58; 
Alex. S. Twombly, 1858-62; Edward P. Gardner, 
1862-67; Henry U, Swinnerton, 1868 to the present 

time. 

The remarkable decline in the importance of 
Cherry Valley, is made most strikingly evident by 
the statement that there were seventeen lawyers in 
active practice in 1843, but by 1873 the number had 
declined to four. 

In 1876, Miss Catharine Roseboom purchased the 
lot at the corner of Montgomery and Church streets 
and erected thereon a building for Academic pur- 
I)oses. A Conservatory of Music was started, in 
1878, with a competent corps of instructors, but it 
proved a failure and was soon abandoned. In ac- 
cordance with the original intention, an Academy 
was established, in 1881, and was run until 1895, 
when, through lack of support, both moral and 
material, it too was given up. Educationally the 



134 HISTORY OP (MIIiUllY VALLEY. 

Acn(l(Miiy wiiM iilwuyH n hu<h;ohs but it whh Huiuiciully 
u I'ailuro, nnd whh only k(>pt up hy tho lilu-rality of 
MiHB RoHt^hoom. 

Tli(^ ( '(Mitcniiiiil of the MjiSHacro of Cherry Valloy 
and tho unveiling of tlu' Monument wliicli, to quoto 
the lato RoBcoe Oonklin^^ "testifies of the sorrow of 
one ^(>nenition am] tlie appnu-iation of anotlier," 
was lield on the ir)tli of Auj^ust, 1878. The luinies 
of the honorary officers, on that occasion, will be of 
sad interest to thos(> whose nunnory carries them 
back to that date, not only as showing the class of 
men who tluMi foinuKJ a part of the village, but also 
as showing tlie sad ravages of death in the compar- 
ativi^ly short time that has since (dapsed; for of 
these men, most of whoni were little past the prime 
of lif(\ but two are left- flohn Judd and Wm. H. 
Wjildron. The list is as follows: Prt!si(h'nt: Chas. 
McLc^an. Vice Presidents:— W. W. Campb(dl, H. 
J. ()l(M)tt, Samuel C. VVillson, Henry TJoH^boom, J, 
N. Clyde, dnc-ob Sharp, .John d uchl, William W. 
Holt, Joseph Phelon, (bM)rge Merritt, J, L. Sawyer, 
James O. Morsts Thos. S, Wells, John C. Campbidl, 
lb)ra((^ Kiph'y, William II. Waldron, Amos L. Swan, 
John C Winne, James Horton, Sen., DeWitt C. 
(^lyd(\ William l^urch, Samuid 11 Campbiill, Hiram 
Flint. 

The following account is takrii from the "Proceed- 
ings of \]\v (V'utenniaJ of the (Mierry Valley Mas- 
sacre" by John L. Sawyer: "The b5th of August 
was a uuirked day in tlu^ caleii(h>r of Cherry Valley; 



HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. l^^'") 

— not from the number of those present, thou^rh it 
was great; nor from the character of the guests, 
though many (jf them were distinguished; but from 
the fact that it was the day set apart for the final act 
of a duty that three generations of men had neg- 
h'ctod to perform. The procession was formed 
l>romptly at one o'clock p. m., under the direction of 
the Marshal, Oapt. J. E. Hetherington, and proceeded 
to the cemetery where the following program was 
carried out: 1. Dirge by the Band, 2. Prayer ])y 
Dr. Eliphalet Nott Potter, President of Union Col- 
lege, 3. Singing of Ode, written for the occasion by 
John L. Sawyer. 4. Remarks by the President of 
the day, 5. Address of H(jn. Horatio Seymour. C). Un- 
veiling of the Monument by Hon. Thos. L. Wells, of 
^. J,, Hon. W. W. Campbell of Cherry Valley, N. 
Y., DeWitt C. Clyde, Esq. of Middlefield, N. Y., 
Hon. S. C. Willson of Indiana and J. B. Thompson, 
M. D., of Poughkeepsie, N. Y., descendents of those 
whose names are inscribed thereon. 7. An Idyl of 
Cherry Valley, Poem and Chorus written for the 
occasion, by S. E. Johnson of Boston, 8. Address by 
Douglas Campbell, Esq., of New York, *J. Singing 
by the Choir, 10. Address by Hon. S. C. Willson of 
Indiana, 11. Address by Col. Snow of Oneonta, 12. 
Address by Dr. Potter, VI Benediction by Rev. H. 
U. Swinnerton. 

On March 29th, 1891, that part of the business 
portion of the village known as 'Harmony Row' was 
destroyed by fire, as was also the house and store 



136 HISTORY OF CHEEKY VALLEY. 

occupied by Alexander Oliver. 

In 1893, Messrs. Rudd and Harris, of Brooklyn, — 
the former a native of Cherry Valley— purchased the 
Grand Hotel property, (formerly the old Academy) 
and spent much money in beautifying and improv- 
ing it. The lithia water (from the lithia spring) 
was also brought to the village, and a handsome 
fountain erected on the hotel grounds. It was hoped 
that through the efforts of these men Cherry Valley 
would develope into a summer resort, rivalling it& 
neighbors, — Sharon and Richfield, — but on July 6th, 
1894 a fire, the most disastrous in its result, that has 
ever visited the place, destroyed the hotel. A most 
serious loss both to the beauty of the village and its 
material prosj^ects. Five days previous fire had also 
destroyed the Central Hotel, for many years the 
most popular hotel in the town. The latter has how- 
ever been replaced by a larger and much more 
modern building. 

Since this time nothing of moment has taken, 
place in this town, excepting the building of the 
water works system in 1896-7, and the death of sev- 
eral prominent men. 

The only man, properly belonging to the present 
generation, who has contributed to the fame of 
Cherry Valley was the late Douglas Campbell, whose 
great work ''The Puritan in England, Holland and 
America"' was written in Cherry Valley, in the years 
immediately preceding his death. A work that 
will stand as a lasting monument to the talents of 



HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. 137 

the author, not less than to his indomitable will, 
which alone sustained him, wasting with disease and 
suffering from physical pain, to complete a work 
which required the keenest perceptions and the 
deepest thought. As a literary feat it is unsurpassed 
in the annals of literature. 

Of the historic buildings of the village the residence 
of Mrs. Sarah Morse O'Connor, has been alone pre- 
served in its original form. A house of much local 
interest from the great number of distinguished 
guests who have been entertained there both by 
Mrs. O'Connor's father, Hon. Oliver A. Morse, and by 
her talented grand-father, Judge James O. Morse; of 
great interest, to many Collegians, as the house 
wherein was founded the Alpha Delta Phi fraternity; 
and of world-wide interest as the roof under which 
Prof. Morse, the inventor of the telegraph worked 
out many of his theories of the system that bears his 
name. Here too, as a young artist, the guest of his 
cousin, James O. Morse, he painted several of his 
pictures, which have since become famous. It has 
an added interest as being for many years the home 
of Mrs. Oliver A. Morse, at the time of her death, 
at the beginning of the present year, one of the few 
real surviving daughters of the revolution. A woman 
of rare lovliness of character, of superior culture and 
of unusual refinement. 

The Cherry Valley of to-day differs in little from 
other small villages. A few of the older families, 
growing yearly less, still linger, and give to the vil- 



138 HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. 

lage a certain social prestige and an unconscious air 
of refinement, unknown to more modern country 
places. Its clergymen hold a somewhat higher 
social position and are possessed of greater learning, 
if not eloquence, than the average country minister. 
Its lawyers and doctors rank fairly well in their 
professions, and its merchants are fully the average 
in enterprise, honesty and respectability. Its moral 
tone is unusually good and its churches are sup- 
ported as well proportionately as elsewhere in the 
country. It has the usual secret organizations, fire 
companies, Union School, water works and other 
concomitants of villages of its size and class. 

Whether it will ever again become an active factor 
in the doings of the world, or whether it has accom- 
plished its part, the future only will determine. — 
The present of the American village is epemeral, the 
future uncertain, but the glory of such a past as 
Cherry Valley's will last as long as this country en- 
dures. While the younger generations, in whom the 
fire of ambition burns, will lament that the advance 
of civilization and the growth of the cities, those 
great vampires which suck the life blood of the 
smaller villages, have destroyed the prosperity of 
this once famous village, there are many who will 
rejoice that the same causes have preserved to the 
place its natural beauty ; that the hills still wear their 
wooded crests; that the landscape is unmarred by 
unsightly buildings, and the pure mountain streams 
unpolluted by the refuse of factories and mills. 



Reminiscences* 



140 . HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. 



Recollections of Cherry Valley. 



By L. W. C. 



"I'll nought extenuate nor set down in malice." 
My earliest recollections of the place began when 
I was about four years old, when I came to live with 
my grandfather, Dr. or he was usually called, Judge 
White. What a lovely village it was then, and how 
many people of position and cultivation were in it! 
As the late Douglas Campbell said, "all the good 
people are dead." My grandfather and his two sons, 
Menzo and Delos, stood at the head of the medical 
profession as physicians and surgeons. James O. 
Morse, Levi Beardsley, Isaac Seeley, Alvin Stewart, 
Jabez D. Hammond and James Brackett, were well- 
known lawyers all over the state. So many men pos- 
sessed of so much talent and culture could be found 
in no other place of equal or superior size. A flourish- 
ing Academy kept up the teaching of the young for 
their future destiny, or work, I should say. Among 
the mechanics was Amasa Belknap, whose rifle shoot- 
ing, and rifle making was well known; also Harry 
Smith, a scientific jeweler, and Prescott whose clocks 
and scissors are still prized by the descendents of 



HISTORY OF CHEERY VALLEY. 141 

the old inhabitants. Besides these villagers the sur- 
rounding inhabitants were people who were deserving 
of being remembered. Down about four miles below 
the village lived the Kosebooms, and a mile or two 
nearer, the Dixons, a little farther on Jesse Johnson, 
and a little farther away still, lived his son Erastus; 
under the hill lived the widow Henn and her four 
children, and on the hill above some of her family, 
the descendents of her father. Judge Hudson, I think 
Mrs. Davis and her two daughters lived there. The 
old Presbyterian church stood in the grave yard, and 
it was the only church here; there were a few Epis- 
copalians, who had organized a church in 1803, but 
it had frittered out, and only now and then had 
visits from father Kash or Mr. Titfany. There were 
no Methodists here then. 

In my mentioning the mechanics, I omitted the 
Judd family, who were very prominent here and 
most excellent citizens. 

In those times people had to be very economical, 
for there was very little money in circulation. Every 
one had the comforts of life, but there was not the 
ambition for elegancies in furniture and dress that 
there is now. Consequently people had more 
time and leisure for the cultivation of their minds. 
Bric-a-brac was an unknown word. In those times 
people were not conventional, but gave utterance to 
their thoughts in an honest and original way. In 
reading the sayings and doings of some of the old 
English worthies I think they are no more worthy 



142 HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. 

of being recorded than some of the witticisms of 
"Oar Village." At the head of the list stood Alvin 
Stewart, a Green Mountaineer. He was a tall, large 
boned man, of sallow complexion, and showed the 
white of the eye a great deal. Like Artemus Ward 
he could convulse people with his sayings and 
doings, without changing his countenance. I was 
too young to understand and remember all I have 
heard about him. He went to Europe, about sixty 
years ago, in the time of sailing vessels, when the 
voyage was long enough for the passengers to be- 
come acquainted with each other, and the Captain 
said, he would willingly take him for nothing for 
the amusement he afforded. He was a teacher at 
first, in the Academy, and always kept his eyes open 
when he made the prayer, at the opening of the 
school. One scholar, bolder than the others, said: 
"Mr. Stewart, why do you always keep your eyes 
open when you pray?" He said, "we are command- 
ed to watch as well as pray." But he was much 
liked by his pupils. I wish I could remember all 
the funny things I've heard of him. An old lady 
told me that once a boy did something against the 
rule, and he told him to go and get some withes. 
When the boy came back he told him he thought he 
should have to kill him; and, as he threatened, he 
kept poking the withes in the ashes, to season them. 
When school was dismissed he took up the bundle 
of sticks and told the boy to run; and he whipt all 
the benches and chairs, and the boy escaped un- 



HISTOEY OF CHERRY VALLEY. H^ 

scathed He was addicted to taking too much some- 
times, but he afterwards reformed and became 
a great temperance man. He was also a 
areat abolitionist and became very prominent as 
one He married a Miss Holt. They had three 
beautiful little daughters, two of whom fell victims 
to the scarlet fever; the surviving one was Mrs^ 
Marsh, who is immortalized as "Jennie Marsh ot 
Cherry Valley," by the poet Morris. I have forgot- 
ten to mention that there was another daughter, who 
married Judge Dean, of Poughkeepsie, and I believe 
is still living. He had a son Alvin, who died young. 
They told a story about Mr. Stewart and a young 
lawyer, who was opposed to him in an important 
case The young man fully aware of the strength 
of his opponent, made great efforts to prepare him- 
self for the battle. He wrote a fine speech but he 
had the misfortune to have a very weak voice. After 
he had finished, Mr. Stewart arose, in a very delib- 
erate manner, with a handkerchief wrapped around 
his head, and, rising still higher on his tip-toes, said, 
''wee! wee! wee!" Which brought down the house, 
and totally defeated the young man in his first at- 
tempt at eloquence. His quotations, or mis-quota- 
tions of Shakespeare, and other classical writers 
v^ere too funny for anything. In speaking of some 
^-oman in court, he said, she "stood like patience at 

a wash-tub." . 

Another pair of funny lawyers were Mr. Levi 

Beardsley and James Brackett. They were mighty 



144 HISTORY OF CHEKra' VALLEV. 

liuntcrH nrul in those days there wcirc no fox(^H in ilw 
country to rob iJic fantKU'.s of tlicir jj^ccscwmd tnrk(!yHj 
(111(1 W(^ could licfir tli(; hounds bayin;^; al)out tlu^ liilJH 
very oftcMi. They used to tak(^ a bottle to refresli 
JJK^ inner man, and oiu^ day after tastiiif^ it they 
found it was Adam's A\i\ whereupon Mr. Beardsley 
Haid: "Ft was some of Elizabeth's work." It is said, 
altho' I do not vouch for the trutli of it, that Eliza- 
beth oruM^ diH'fipitated one of her husbaiurs liounds. 

Judge Morsc! was a very talented lawyer and one 
of the most alnial)l(^ of iiKui. His wife was also a 
a very ^iftt^d woman. She was a groat h)ver of 
tlowtu's and her gardcMi was one of the show places of 
the town. 

fJudge Hamuiond was another distinguished 
lawyer. He wrote the "Political History of New 
York." Personally he was one of the ugliest men 
I ever saw. He was a widower, with one son, 
when I first recall him. He married soon after a lady 
who was rc^commended to him; one of the lovliest 
characters 1 ev(^r met with. She was tlreadfuUy 
scarred with the small-pox, but was so agreeable that 
oiK^ forgot slu^ was not beautiful. She devoted her 
life to him, and said it was worth something to have 
such an agreeable companion. She read all the 
proof sluMits for his history, read to liim, conversed 
with him, and did everything to make him happy. — 
Altlio' of a strong vigorous constitution, he had to be 
indulged in all his whims; she liad to make his brown 
bread, cook his rice, and when he was judge she had 



HISTORY OP CHERRY VALLEY. 145 

to accompany him to court and carry his bread. He 
must have a fresh eg<; for his breakfast, and one 
lady said: "If there was but one hen in the world, 
and that hen laid but one egg, Judge Hammond 
must have it." Perhaps the Judge had some appre- 
ciation of her, for after her death he wrote on her 
bed Adam's discription of Eve: 

"Grace was in all her steps, Heaven in her eye; 
In every gesture dignity and love." 

Another lawyer who was quite prominent was Mr. 
Seeley, He had two daughters who were agreeable, 
accomplished ladies, Mrs. Wm. Oliver of Penn Yan 
and Mrs. David H. Little. Their house was the 
resort of all the pleasant people of the village and 
county. 

In my time the principal of the Academy was Mr, 
Cogswell, an excellent teacher and a man very much 
respected. He died in the western part of the State 
not many years ago. His successors were nearly all 
tine scholarly men and it is a great pity such an in- 
stitution which prepared so many young men for 
doing good work in the world should have been 
closed. It was endowed by a Mr. Dwight Ripley, 
but by what means the property was ever diverted 
from its rightful use I never could find out. There 
were several other families that ought to be remem- 
bered. Among these were the Clydes, who lived 
above the village, and whose ancestor in the revolu- 
tion was one of the principal men here. 

Judge Hudson, who owned the place now occupied 
by Edward Phelon, was an Englishman. He was 



146 HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. 

a very fat man and a good farmer. I've heard 
my father say the Hudson and Tunnicliffe cheese 
used to sell for fifty cents a pound on the North 
River. He used to import his cattle from England 
and lived in the style of an English grazier. He 
was so fat he could not walk and used to be driven 
about in his ox-cart. He was very fond of good eat- 
ing and partook too freely of his home brewed. He 
would get very ill and send for my grand-father and 
say to him: "Dr. White, if you will only cure me 
this time I will neither eat nor drink any more." — 
But he broke his word and the last time my grand- 
father said: "Judge, I can do nothing for you." A 
short time since a person told me that her uncle had 
a large chair, almost big enough for two persons to 
sit in, and it was called "the Hudson Chair." I 
asked her if she had never heard of the "Hudsons." — - 
She said. "No." "So soon do we pass away and are 
forgotten." Some idea may be had of the size of 
Judge Hudson: when his coffin was carried out of 
the house, the sides of the door had to be taken off. 
There was a family of Tuckers on the East Hill. 
One of them. Josh, was considered a great wit. — 
His son also named Josh was down in the village, 
and he made the acquaintance of a young woman 
sitting in a wagon under a shed. She was journey- 
ing with her family in a big covered wagon out west 
to "the Ohio" as it was then called. Josh and she 
were mutually pleased with each other, and so they 
were married. My grand-father said to the old 



HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. 147 

man: "Mr. Tucker, what kind of a wife did Josh 
get?" "I will tell you Doctor. 

The Israelites they wanted bread, 

The Lord did send them manna; 

Our Josh wanted a wife, 

And the devil sent him Hannah." 
There was another Tucker, in my time, named Joe; 
whether he was a descendent of Josh and Hannah 
I cannot say. He one day gave Mrs. Joe a whipping, 
and the reason he gave was this. He told his wife 
there were two things she should not lend, one was 
the tine comb, the other was the darning needle, but 
she had the temerity to lend the darning needle, and 
a little girl in crossing a bridge let it fall between 
the planks, so she got the whipping for her dis- 
obedience. 

There used to be a beautiful farm about two miles 
north of the village, owned by Mr. Benoni Rose. He 
was a pleasant, jolly old man; inclined to be fat and 
loved a good dinner. He was originally a carpenter, 
and went to the West Indies with the Kane brothers. 
Before he left, he was engaged to Miss Maria Betts, 
whose father resided on this pretty retired place.— 
She was tall, thin, ladylike, and as unlike him as 
could be, but she was his beau ideal of all that was 
lovely and beautiful in a woman. All his ambition 
was to get enough to support her in comfort and 
luxury. He went away with the understanding that 
if he did not return in two years she could consider 
herself free of her promise. She was not anxious to 



148 HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. 

marry him, but the father, a selfish old man was de- 
termined she should, so that he could save his farm. 
She did not hear from him, and became engaged to 
a man after her own heart, but just before the time 
had expired, he came. He said he had written, but 
the letters had not reached her. Her lover was poor 
and so she had to marry him. It was a sad case. 
Altho' he was devoted to her she was sharp and tart 
in her bearing towards him; they were both to be 
pitied. They had no children. They came down 
and lived in the village and her brother lived with 
them and was always at logger heads with Mr. Rose, 
which could not have added to her happiness. Old 
Mrs. Campbell said there were two brothers Betts, 
and each of them had two children, but the latter 
had no descendents. Miss Deb Hudson, whose sayings 
have lived after her, said it was well, for the Lord 
knew there was enough of that pattern. The Betts 
came from Newtown, Long Island, and they brought 
with them an old negro woman named Betty, whose 
manners were most ladylike and finished. My mother 
said she was a good imitation of her mistress, Mrs. 
Betts. She had a daughter named Mary and her 
husband's name was Prince, who was as old if not 
older than Betty. He was in the employ of Mr. 
Roseboom and as the Cooperstown stage was going 
up the hill, a trunk fell off; whereupon old Prince 
got it. A very respectable man passed over the road 
soon after, and he was arrested and imprisoned in 
the jail at. Cooperstown for several weeks. Finally 



HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY, 149 

the theft was discovered by some silver spoons 
Mary had in her possession. The poor old man was 
released, but his reason had given. away, and he 
never fully recovered. One of his daughters, I was 
told always wept when she told of his unjust im- 
prisonment. 

We had romances and tragedies here as there are 
everywhere, and altho' people did not make large 
fortunes, they did not seem to do much better 
when they went away, and some who left, returned 
to pass their last days here. We usually had three 
principal stores, and our hotels have been famous. 
Before the days of canals and railroads all the trav- 
elers were anxious to reach Story's tavern, and in 
later times Sterns' was quite famous too. This was 
the thoroughfare, the great Western turnpike, and 
every morning the stage horn used to come down the 
hill, a much more joyful sound than the shrill 
whistle of the steam engine. 

About two miles above us lived a family of Pre- 
voosts. He was the son of the first Bishop of New 
York. He was very unsteady in his habits and his 
family sent him to New Jersey, where he married a 
good woman, and they had a large family of children. 
He had but two sons, and one of them is now an oc- 
cupant of the asylum at Utica. The other one was 
a civil engineer, and a most respectable man. He 
died and left a widow and four children, one is a son; 
the daughters are dead with one exception. I think 
there is not one of his descendents in the Episcopal* 



150 HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. 

church. I heard Dr. J. W. Francis say he was one 
of the most learned men of his time, and a great 
botanist. His gardens were in the upper part of 
New York, on the land which now belongs to Colum- 
bia College. 

My grandfather, came here in 1787, when he was 
21 years old, and he said he had a horse, a valise, 
and fifty dollars in his pocket. The records say he 
was a descendant of Peregrine White. His father 
was a surveyor under the crown, and died when my 
grandfather was a little boy. My grandfather ran 
away from home when only eight years old and ship- 
ped on a man of war at Boston. He went nearly 
around the world, he said, and was a powder monkey 
in an engagement and a man was shot down beside 
him. He was a very handsome man, six feet in his 
stockings and very active and powerful. He usual- 
ly wore a dark green coat, long stockings and 
breeches; when riding he wore Wellington boots. — 
Among the patients that he had here were two sons 
of the celebrated Timothy Pickering. Both of them 
stayed with him a long time. My grandfather died 
when I was only nine years old. He used to go 
sometimes a day or two without eating and then eat 
a great deal. He went off below Cooperstown, and 
to several other places to see patients. At one place 
a woman asked him if he would not have something 
to eat? He said yes for "he was very hungry." She 
gave him some ham, which was hard and tough. It 
distressed him greatly. He reached the house of 



HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. 151 

Mr. Cushman, in Monticello, but lived only a few- 
days. He said he had inflammation of the dia- 
phragm and could live but so long a time, and he 
died as he predicted. 

I have been asked if I remembered the visit of Pres- 
ident VanBuren in the year 1838, and been told that 
it would interest people to have an account of it by 
somebody who was here then. I was a young 
girl, about fourteen, at the time, and, as my father 
was a stanch whig, I did not admire the democrats; 
but considered them as bad as people could be. One 
day Mr. Levi Beardsley, who was the leading demo- 
crat here and a state Senator, informed my father, 
that Mr. VanBuren was coming and asked him if 
he could entertain him. He said he could if my 
mother was willing, which of course she was. So, 
upon the appointed day, a procession of two or three 
<?arriages went down to meet him, on the old Fort 
Plain road. When we reached Mr. Ough's, we saw 
the front yard filled with lovely red roses. We made 
a halt and Mr. Roseboom went into the house and 
told Mr. Ough that we were on our way to meet the 
president and asked him for some of his roses to pre- 
sent to him. He said, "Who is the bresident?" Mr. 
Roseboom answered "Mr. VanBuren." "Is he a 
goot man?" Mr. Roseboom said yes. "Then he may 
have my roses" he answered. A little further on we 
met the "goot man" and pelted him with the roses.— 
In the evening there was a reception at the Old 
Story Tavern, and the people from the neighborhood 



152 HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. 

all came to see him and were highly pleased. One 
man, perhaps a little overcome with something more 
potent than patriotism, called him "'Mattie" and 
others claimed some kindred with him or some of 
his family. It was what would be called in these 
times "a grand ovation." 

After this was over we were invited to a reception 
at Mr. Beardley's. where we were entertained with a 
liberal supper. Mrs. Beardsley insisted upon the 
president partaking of a piece of pumpkin pie; 
which he was too polite and kind too refuse. In 
the middle of the night the pumpkin pie was 
heard from, and my father went up to see what was 
the disturbance in Mr, VanBuren's room. He told 
him. "pumpkin pie."' My father hurried to get 
something to allay the trouble, and he said to him: 
"President, I would not have you die iu my house 
for anything;'" which amused the president very 
much. He had with him his youngest son, Smith,, 
and a colored valet. We had a very clever cook who, 
like Caleb Balderstone, was anxious to keep up the 
honor of the family. The valet said to her: 'Does 
not Mr. Livingston keep a man?" She answered? 
••yes, but he is away now." 

Mr. VanBuren was rather a small man, of florid 
complexion, most polite and refined in his appear- 
ance and manners, and winning in his address. — 

Altho" Cherry Valley is a small place its worth 
talking about. You lind its inhabitants in every part 
of the Continent from New York to the Pacilic and 



HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. 153 

some of them are people to be proud of. In all the 
American Histories of ihe levolnlion there is an ac- 
count of the massacres at Cherry Valley and 
Wyoming. It was originally patented by a Mr. Lind- 
say, a Scotchman, and an cfficer in the English 
army. It is a legend that he killed his friend in a 
duel. It was settled by a colony from down east, as 
the saying goes, and our hills are all named after the 
hills in the North of Ireland, Lady Hill, and several 
others. The colonists were Scotch Irish, from the 
North of Ireland, and consequently protestants. — 
The farm on which we live, which was the residence 
of my grandfather. Dr. White, was the home of the 
dominie Mr. Dunlop, a Scotchman, and we may call 
it classic ground for it is said that he used to teach 
boys Latin and Greek while plowing his fields. He 
was engaged to be married when he left Scotland, 
and if he did not return in seven years, his lady love 
could be at liberty to chocse another lover, llic 
time passed away and she was about to get married 
when lo! he appeared and fo she had to marry him, 
and come to this wilderness. When the Indians came 
here, the old man hid in a wood pile, but she jjoor 
woman was killed. They cut off her arm with a 
tomahawk, and threw it up in an apple tree] the tree 
was standing when I was a child. I believe they 
were the parents of Mrs. Wells, and consequently 
the grandparents of John Wells, the celebrated law- 
yer. The family lived on the opposite hill, and were 
all murdered except the young John, who was at 



lot HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. 

Schenectady at school. My father, Jacob Living- 
stoa. was a stuient in his offi^i. I had forgotten to 
say that the original nam? of the place was Linde- 
say's Bash. It is not neccessary to tell of the cap- 
ture of the Campbells, as the story has been told by 
the late Judge William Campbell in his "Annals of 
Tryon County." 1 remember the old Judge, who 
was taken captive , with his mother, when quite a 
young boy. When a very old man, over 80, he went 
to Canada to visit the tribe of Indians with whom 
he had lived. He was very fond of their way of liv- 
ing. They asked him if he could remember any of 
their language. He said only one word, and that was 
his name, and he would like to know its meaning. 
When he told them his name, they said it meant, 
'"big eyes." He and his wife lived to a good old age 
she was about 91 if I recollect and he 97. They cel- 
ebrated their "Diamond Wedding."" Her name was 
Elderkin, and she came from Wyndham. There is 
a funny story told about that place: there were two 
ponds near it and there was a great drought, and one 
pond was nearly dry, so the frogs migrated from the 
dry pond to the adjoining one, in hopes of getting 
water. On their march they croaked, and an old ne- 
gro got awfully frightened for he said, the Indians 
were coming for he heard them say: "Col. Dyer! 
Col. Dyer! and Elderkin too! Elderkin too!"' Col. 
Dyer was one of the principal men in Windham. — 
The son of Judsje Campbell, who wrote the "Annals 
of Tryon Co.,"' has written a book or rather a history 



HISTORY OF CHEERY VALLEY. 165 

of the "Puritan in England and America," which 
has produced quite a sensation, and I should think 
would be much prized by the admirers and adherents 
of Calvin. This is a little hamlet among the hills. I 
sometimes think of the description of Jerusalem; as 
the Mountains are about thee, O Jerusalem, so are 
the hills about thee, O Cherry Valley! It is a bright 
pleasant place in summer, and people are glad to come 
here, to enhale our cool fresh air. The world has mov- 
ed on beyond us, and if we are behind in some of the 
modern improvements and luxuries, we have escaped 
some of the troubles and vexations attending them. 



156 HISTORY OF CHERRY VALLEY. 



ERRATA. 

The proof reading of some of the early portions 
of this work was not as carefully done as the author 
would wish, but, fortunately, the mistakes are in the 
main mere typographical errors. There are, how- 
ever, three mistakes to which especial attention is 
called: In the first, Harpersfield is called Harpers- 
ville; in the account of the first massacre, in one 
place Alden is spelled Allen; and on page 96, Major 
Daniel Hale, of Albany, is called Hall. 



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